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THE 



SHAYBACKS IN CAMP 



TEN SUMMERS UNDER CANVAS 



BY 



SAMUEL J. BARROWS 

AND .y^ 

ISABEL C/ BARROWS 



Two voices are there. —Wordsworth 

Distinct as the billows, yet one as the sea. — Montgomery 





BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 

1887 



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Copyright, 1887, 
By SAMUEL J. BARROWS. 

All rights reserved. 



The Riverside Press, Cambridge : 
Electrotyped and Printed by H. 0. Houghton & Co. 



1 5 ' ^'^^^^ 



To 
OUR LITTLE LASSIE, 

WHO IN THESE TEN SUMMERS HAS SWUNG IN THE HAMMOCK, 

FLOATED ON THE WAVE, 

AND LEARNED TO PADDLE HER OWN CANOE. 



PEEFAOE. 



The custom of taking a summer rest is 
becoming a fixed habit in American business 
and professional life. What to do with this 
annual period is often a puzzle. Many people 
spend half their vacation in finding out how- 
to enjoy the other half. For the last ten 
years the Shaybacks have found a practical 
solution to this question in camping out. 
The success of this form of recreation de- 
pends largely in knowing how to do it. The 
writers offer no formal treatise on this sub- 
ject, but the following transcripts from their 
own experience will illustrate its various 
methods and possibilities. One definite aim 
of this book has been to show that this is by 



vi PREFACE. 

no means a distinctly masculine recreation, 
but that the ideal camp is the family camp. 

Many of the Shayback sketches have ap- 
peared in the " Christian Register " and in 
" Outing." These have been revised or re- 
written. Other chapters are added which 
have not before been in print. 

Those who read the chapters on " Camp 
Cooking," " Massawippi," and the account 
of camping in India may naturally regret 
that Mrs. Barrows's name is not attached to 
a larger number of these sketches. The only 
consolation I can offer is that her own achieve- 
ments in camp life would not have received 
justice had they been left to the record of her 
modest pen. 

S. J. B. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAFTEB FAaS 

I. GypsYiNQ IN Maine 1 

II. A Gypsy Ciam-Bake .-<... 22 

III. A Raid on Canada .,.,.. 30 

IV. Memphremagoq 49 

V. A Family Camp 66 

•■VI. Getting Settled 82 

VII. Camp Occupations 91 

VIII. The Camp Kitchen, by Isabel C. Basbows 105 
IX. The Piquancies and Perils of a Steam Yacht 116 

X. Nymphic Navigation 144 

XI. Spoon and Sinker : the Science of it . . 171 
XII. Spoon and Sinker: the Poetry of it . . 204 

XIII. To Bbome Lake 220 

XIV. Massawippi, by Isabel C. Barrows . . 235 
XV. Our Log-Cabin 242 

XVI. Mr. Shayback at Muster 258 

XVII. Camp Life in India, by Isabel C. Barrows . 281 



THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 



CHAPTER I. 

GYPSYING IN MAINE. 

If all the items had been put down in the 
way-bill, they would have run somewhat in 
this wise : — 

1 gypsy minister. 
1 gj^sy minister's wife. 
1 gypsy maiden, — Arline. 
1 gypsy child, Pusskin, a four-year-oldster. 
1 gypsy chum, Thomas. 
1 trunk. 
1 valise. 
1 camp-stove. 
1 tiny kerosene stove. 
1 wall tent. 
1 A tent. 
125 feet lumber. 
1 box canned fruit. 



2 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

1 box crackers. 

1 box utensils. 

2 straw beds. 

10 lbs. sugar, loose in a box. 

2 loaves of bread on top of the sugar. 
1 axe. 

1 saw. 

1 hammer. 

1 gal. kerosene oil. 

3 lbs. nails. 

1 roll blankets and pillows. 
1 lantern. 

1 bundle waterproofs. 
Various odds and ends. 

At the time we contemplate it, the whole 
of the above-mentioned outfit is loaded on a 
hay-rack for the forward movement we are 
about to describe. The point of departure was 
a beautiful white birch grove on the banks of 
the Penobscot, which our Methodist brethren 
had preempted for camp-meeting purposes. 
Here, at the kind suggestion of Tom, we had 
spent a pleasant week with this zealous, open- 
hearted tribe of Israel, worshiping under the 
same vine and birch-tree, and even singing 
the " Gospel Songs " in the Methodist choir. 



GYPSYING IN MAINE. 3 

The grove was thickly crowded with cottages 
and tents, the latter consisting for the most 
part of wooden frames covered with cotton 
cloth. The Shaybacks began by hiring one 
of the largest of these tents at the reasonable 
rate of two dollars a week. They had pre- 
ceded the regular camp-meeting by about a 
week, and had caught but the auroral flush of 
the dawning excitement. The tribe was ex- 
pected in great force after the formal opening. 
Mr. Shayback, being a minister, was de- 
lighted to be waked up at half-past four in 
the morning by the loud-voiced man in the 
next tent, who fervently poured out his spirit 
at that hour before going forth to fish. There 
was an unconditional frankness about it. This 
man had no secrets from the Lord; none 
from the rest of the camp-meeting. Mrs. 
Shayback, with slumbering impiety, could not 
share the delight of her husband at being 
roused so early in the morning. Arline like- 
wise seemed to wish that the vociferous repre- 
sentative of early piety would pray, if pray 
he must, like ancient Hannah, who " spake in 



4 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

her heart ; only her lips moved, but her voice 
was not heard." There was a moving quality 
about this brother's prayers. It moved him 
early in the morning; it moved the Shay- 
backs also. It finally resulted in moving 
them out of the camp-ground altogether. 
They longed for more rest and soHtude ; they 
longed to listen to some of those secrets of 
Nature which she will only disclose in a pri- 
vate interview. 

Thomas and Mr. Shayback went on an 
exploring expedition. They discovered a 
beautiful point some four miles down the 
river. It was promptly decided to migrate. 
The Shaybacks paid their bills, returned 
thanks to Mr. Calderwood, the kindly su- 
perintendent, hired a hay-rack, and loaded 
it with the afore-mentioned passengers and 
freight. A sorrel horse was invited to fur- 
nish the motive power, and Thomas under- 
took the responsible task of teamster. Of 
the religion of that horse there is great un- 
certainty. He either did not believe in the 
perseverance of the saints, or else modestly 



GYPSYING IN MAINE. 5 

refused to consider himself of their number. 
Ready-to-Halt is the name which most nearly- 
corresponded with his character. His readi- 
ness in this direction was sometimes an incon- 
venience. Of the religion of Thomas I can 
speak with more certainty after having seen 
him drive this horse. Thomas has since 
maintained that the horse was maligned. 
He, however, did nothing to malign him. 
A mule, according to army notions, will not 
pull unless his character is blackened with 
opprobrious epithets. Thomas, however, 
drove his horse by reins, not curses. 

Will any of the martyrs of travel tell us 
what are the glories of riding on a rail com- 
pared with those of riding on a rack ? The 
" hay " on this occasion was altogether a fic- 
tion ; the " rack " was a positive and jubilant 
fact. Thomas took his seat in the bow, Mrs. 
Shayback and the four-year-oldster amid- 
ships. Rev. Mr. Shayback and Arline sitting 
in the stern. Thomas gathered up the 
rudder lines and we rolled off. Up the slight 
incline the sorrel moved with much delibera- 



6 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

tion until we struck a level stretch of road, 
when our pilot called for more steam and the 
sorrel swung into a brisk trot. What an 
unreportable exhilaration, especially on the 
"hind end" of the rack ! There is no place 
where you can get so much motion out of 
the same amount of ride, especially if you 
discard all enervating cushions and ride on 
the top of a box of loose habits. When you 
first start you are conscious of sitting on 
the box. But this consciousness gradually 
leaves you as the vibration rises from your 
feet and ascends in a continuous ague through 
every bone in your body. You are no longer 
riding on a box, you are riding on a tremor. 
You are insulated from head to foot in an 
ecstatic thrill. Suddenly the hind wheels 
strike a rock or drop into a hole. You fly 
into the air. When you come down you feel 
perfectly certain that the box is under you, 
and that it succeeded in getting down first. 
If the ancient martyrs had only been put on 
a rack of this kind instead of those then in 
use, they might have ridden to heaven with- 



GYPSYING IN MAINE. 7 

out jarring anybody's feelings but their own. 
" How invigorating this is," thought Mr. 
Shayback, as he bobbed up and down on the 
box with uncertain rhythm. "I don't be- 
Heve, though, that I should make a very good 
battering ram. A man needs an iron consti- 
tution to make a good hammer. One ought 
to wear his winter clothes and have his bones 
well sheathed in fat to do justice to the end 
of a hay-rack." 

A cry of distress from Arline sent a thrill 
through every nerve. 

^' Stop ! stop ! The sugar ! the sugar ! " 
Thomas brought old sorrel close up to the 
wind, threw out his anchor, seized a spoon, 
and sprang to the rescue. The box contain- 
ing ten pounds of sugar (at thirteen cents 
a pound) had tumbled through the rack. 
There was a beautiful white wake of sugar 
in the middle of the road, and close by lay 
the mangled remains of a loaf of bread, — 
not much mangled, either, for the wheel had 
gone through it lengthwise, and cut it in two 
as clean almost as if it had been done with a 



8 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

knife. It was a melancholy sight, but we 
gathered the fragments and spooned up the 
dust with care (not more than one spoonful 
of sand to two of sugar), and Thomas, who 
knows some of the secrets of the grocery 
business, declared we had made money by 
the operation. When we started again, 
Arline thought there was a little too much 
staccato at the extreme end of the wagon, and 
moved forward to seek a smoother legato. 

'' Port your helm, Tom ; port, my boy ; " 
and Thomas pulled out just in time to avoid 
a three-foot precipice at the edge of the road. 
The old sorrel did not seem to mind the rud- 
der very well. He was too fond of tacking, 
even when he had a free wind. 

Presently we came to the foot of a high 
and exceedingly steep bluff. Its angle was 
absolutely painful, and its great height dis- 
couraging to all aspiration. Ready-to-Halt 
seemed to lose heart when he looked at it. 
Job, in his masterly description of the horse, 
speaks of his swallowing the ground. He 
did not refer to this horse, for Ready-to-Halt 



GYPSYING IN MAINE. 9 

seemed to have no appetite for this hill what- 
ever ; and though the load was far from 
heavy, it did seem a big hill for one horse to 
swallow. Just at the foot of the slope was a 
little house. A blind man here had gained 
local repute by his skill in telling fortunes. 
Arline, though metaphorically a gypsy her- 
self, was very desirous of testing his pro- 
phetic power, and, with Mrs. Shayback, pro- 
posed to do it as the load went up the hill. 
The fortune-teller would have had plenty of 
time to spin his fables had he waited for the 
accomplishment of this lofty intent. But 
Ready-to-Halt did not propose to go up there 
without all the help that he could get. He 
took a little bite of the slope and then stopped 
to digest it. Mr. Shayback shouted for the 
ladies. They came quickly to the rescue, 
and the fortune-teller was robbed of his gain. 
A man sitting listlessly in his doorway proph- 
esied that we could " never get up the 
hill." This was a cheerful assurance to 
begin with. What should v/e do? If just 
then we could have borrowed a half mile of 



10 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

Hoosac Tunnel ! But the biggest tunnel we 
had was a three-inch stovepipe. It would 
cost us a million dollars to cut a road through 
that hill^ and there was no time to spare. It 
would have taken us four miles out of our 
way to go round. So we chose the hill itself. 
No, we did not choose it; the choice was 
Hobson's. Happily the ladies had on their 
neat, pretty gymnastic suits, with skirts drop- 
ping to the top of their boots. They did not 
have to bind their hands in holding up their 
dresses. 

" Now, Arline, take a stone and be ready to 
block the wheel when R. T. Halt comes to a 
stop ; and, Mrs. Shayback, take another, and 
meanwhile push all you can." 

Ready-to-Halt makes a start. We put all 
our strength into the wheel ; up we go, about 
thirty feet, when the horse suddenly halts, 
and the whole load comes upon our shoulders, 
and horse, too, for that matter, as he leans 
comfortably back upon the rack. The wagon 
begins to back. It is a precarious moment. 
If it once gets under way, no one knows 



GYPSYING IN MAINE. 11 

what will become of the load. Just in the 
nick of time the women cleverly throw the 
stones under the wheels, and we breathe 
freer. 

The listless man at the foot of the hill 
shouts, " You can never get up that hill ! " 

We begin to think there is some truth in 
his statement. We also think he would be 
kinder if he were to come up and put his shoul- 
der to the wheel. We give Ready a good rest, 
and try it again. Ready is not balky, but he 
insists on having plenty of blowing stops, and 
we cannot tell just when he thinks one neces- 
sary till he halts, and that is generally at the 
wrong place. We have no whip, but Mr. 
Shayback shouts at the top of his lungs in 
a manner to frighten the beast out of his 
wits, if he were a horse of any tenderness of 
hearing. How we toil and sweat ! How 
bravely the women work ! And the four- 
year-oldster bears it very patiently, too, trudg- 
ing along by the side of the road. If we 
could only hitch up some of that strong 
camp-meeting butter with the sorrel, how 
smartly they could draw that load ! 



12 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

We worked at it over an hour. It was 
truly a Hill of Difficulty, and the original hill 
of that name never tried the patience of 
Christian more than this tried ours. When 
half-way up we came to the most critical 
point, a section so steep that ascent seemed 
impossible. We took a good rest. Then 
summoning all the strength we could com- 
mand, tongue-power, hand-power, foot-power, 
we gained this strategic point. 

As we sat there panting by the roadside, 
the horse the least weary of the group, a man 
came up with a yoke of oxen and stopped a 
little distance behind our wagon. His atti- 
tude and bearing were mercenary rather than 
generous or helpful. 

"A fine day," said we. 

" Fine day," said he. 

'' Pretty big hill to climb." 

" Yes ; are you stuck ? " 

" Stuck ! stuck ! " we exclaimed, with well- 
feigned surprise, "What made you think 
so?" 

" Well, a man down there said you were 



GYPSYING IN MAINE. 13 

stuck. He said you never could get up that 
hill." 

What a strange man ! What could have 
put such a notion in his head ? 

The oxen-driver seemed very sorry that we 
were not stuck. We had a tough little piece 
of hill to climb yet, but he did not offer to 
help us. He was waiting for a bargain, the 
best bargain he could get. His team could 
be hired for a dollar. Had he offered to give 
us a lift we should have been glad to pay him 
for his generosity ; but when he insinuated 
that we could not get up without him, he 
raised all the pluck we had left. Arline was 
especially indignant. We started up old 
Ready ; the ladies took hold ; we carried the 
hill in triumph. 

Oh, glorious vision of beauty ! We sat a 
moment on the hard-won summit to enjoy it. 
Below us the beautiful Penobscot, dotted with 
sails, cleft with wood-crowned isles, and in- 
dented with lovely coves. There is Islesboro, 
parting the waters of the broad bay, sprinkled 
here and there with cottages, and covered 



14 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

with groves. It hangs together by a little 
thread of land in the middle, over which the 
tide might almost wash. A dozen poetic lit- 
tle islands, with prosaic names (Flat, High- 
land, Seventy-five Acre, Hog Island, etc.), 
form the satellites in this beautiful archipel- 
ago. Five miles away Searsport nestles on 
the hillside, glistening in the sun. Below it 
we catch a view of Belfast Bay. Just; oppo- 
site, Castine is marked by that white light- 
house which in the distance looks like a little 
salt-cruet. Off to the east lies Sedgwick, and 
farther to the south. Deer Island. The bold 
outlines of the Camden hills are capped with 
mists as they rise into the sky, which to the 
east bends down to kiss the sleeping ocean. 
Hill and dale, isle, cove, and peninsula, the 
peaceful river, the ample bay, and the ocean- 
breadth beyond, all bathed in sunlight or 
toned with shade, formed one of the most 
lovely panoramic views we had ever seen. 

" A man must climb," said Mr. Shayback, 
" if he is going to have a broad view of 
either moral or physical relations. It costs 



GYPSYING IN MAINE. 15 

work to climb ; but it pays." I suspect that 
Mr. Shayback will be carting this hill into 
one of his sermons, or selling it to the reli- 
gious press at so much a ton. 

We were on the hill ; how were we to get 
down ? No lock-chain, no break. We tried 
to extemporize one. Mr. Shayback undertook 
to hold the wheels with a tent-pole. His min- 
istry was not very successful. It would have 
been a sin to break a tent-pole. If he sinned 
at all he determined, in the words of the 
Prophet, to sin " with a cart-rope." We found 
the cart-rope in the wagon, and tied it to the 
back axle. Mr. Shayback and the ladies took 
hold and held back with all their strength. 

Ready was a splendid horse on the breech- 
ins:. There is a difference in horses as in 
men. You find horses that are good on the 
breeching that are not much on the tug, and 
horses that are good on the tug that are not 
much on the breeching ; just as you find men 
that have go-ahead power but not much stay- 
power, or men that have stay-power who have 
no forward vim. Ready was a stay-back 



16 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP, 

horse. As Tom said, " He went backward 
pretty well, going forwards." We descended 
the hill as slowly as a respectable funeral, 
presenting, I dare say, a very comical appear- 
ance, and reminding one of the appendage to 
Captain Crosstree in Robson's " Black-eyed 
Susan." Stretched out like the tail of a kite, 
grasping the knotted line till hands were al- 
most blistered, Mr. Shayback, Mrs. Shayback, 
and Arline lay back on the rope till they al- 
most touched the ground, and disputed every 
foot of the way. Completely begrimed with 
dust, the coatless Mr. Shayback looked more 
like a deacon than a minister, if we cling 
to the old derivation of " deacon " {hid, 
xovtg, ''one loJio is dusty ivith running"). 
The little four-year-old trudging after, the fat 
hands filled with asters and golden-rod, was 
the one bright spot in the picture. When 
Thomas let the sorrel out, as we reached the 
bottom, we were jerked around in a very lively 
manner, like a fish on the end of a line. It 
was very well for him to shout, " Let her run 
now." It was quite another thing, under the 



GYPSYING IN MAINE. - 17 

downward impulse, to stop " running our- 
selves. 

We threw up our hats when we reached 
Captain Wright's gate. The sun had set. 
It was too late to pitch the tents. We had 
been three hours and a quarter in coming the 
four miles ! At this rate, Thomas will never 
be elected to a membership in the Society 
for the Promotion of Cruelty to Animals. 
We thanked him for his care, were sorry he 
had to go back, and besought him not to 
drive so fast on his way home. Captain 
Wright, an old seaman, and his wife gave us 
a cordial welcome. We never found a more 
hospitable roof, though it is doubtful if they 
had ever read the story of Baucis and Phile- 
mon, or expected reward for their trouble. 

The next morning the two tents were 
pitched side by side on a beautiful spot, which 
was christened " Fern Point." As Thomas 
was obliged to remain at Northport with his 
family, the gypsy camp was reduced to Mr. 
and Mrs. Shayback, Pusskin, and Arline. 
Mr. Shayback had camped before for months 



18 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

on the Western plains ; Mrs. Shayback had 
camped in India ; but this was the first at- 
tempt of the Shayback family to camp to- 
gether. As we recall that first family camp 
on the banks of the Penobscot the party seems 
small, the outfit meagre, the appliances rude. 
But the situation was lovely, the companion- 
ship delightful, and the rest and quietude 
grateful. When the camp historian wrote 
his letter to the " Christian Register " he 
gave a pen-and-ink sketch of the situation 
which we like to preserve in the vividness of 
the present tense : — 

" And now our tents are pitched on a beau- 
tiful, grassy peninsula, whose rocky feet are 
washed by the waters of the bay. The little 
cove which it shelters is fringed with woods 
of spruce and cedar. In this cove we find a 
delightful bathing-place. Reposing beneath 
its bed are thousands of delicious clams wait- 
ing for the revealing spade. In this cove, 
Charles, the fisherman, anchors his wherry 
and his lobster-car. Charles is a kind, oblig- 
ing fellow, who has a trawl out in mid-river 



GYPSYING IN MAINE. 19 

with a line half a mile long and some five hun- 
dred hooks. He hauls it twice a day, and 
brings up varying quantities of cod, haddock, 
hake, etc., sometimes a dozen, sometimes one 
hundred and fifty at a haul. He gets plenty 
of mackerel with his jig. We are sure of a 
good supply of fish. Indeed, we can take 
our poles, and from the rocks before our tent- 
door can catch a mess of cunner at almost 
any time. Milk and eggs grow on our neigh- 
bor's farm. Children bring us blueberries, 
whortleberries, and raspberries. Our little 
kerosene stove is a treasure, especially on a 
stormy day. It is suprising how much that 
stove can achieve under the tuition of Mrs. 
Shayback and Arline, though so small it 
could go under a silk hat. We have plenty 
of drift-wood on the shore when we need the 
larger camp stove. Our furniture is simple. 
Arline sawed the boards, Mrs. Shayback 
measured and fitted them, and Mr. Shayback 
nailed them down to the joists to make a 
ofood floor for the wall-tent. An inclosure of 
boards in the corner was filled with spruce 



20 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

boughs. On this was placed the fresh straw 
mattress, and the combination makes a springy, 
fragrant bed. Mr. Shayback occupies the A 
tent, where he sleeps on a rude bedstead of his 
own manufacture. Fresh moss dotted with 
violet leaves forms a beautiful carpet. The 
little one sleeps in a hammock suspended from 
stakes. Thomas made us a rough pine table, 
and Mr. Shayback has made a knock-kneed 
bench. In addition we have several very 
original camp-stools, contrived from driftwood 
by Mrs. Shayback. Bits of boards laid 
across fruit-cans, two or three stories high, 
make an excellent cupboard for the shining 
array of tin-ware. In good weather we cook 
and eat out-of-doors, and then we would not 
change dining-rooms with any hotel in the 
country. We are half a mile from the road ; 
we see no teams, we have no dust, no inter- 
ruption^. The river in front is our roadway. 
The steamboats salute us as they pass. In 
the fogs voices from bewildered schooners 
sometimes shout to us to know their way. 
Storm or shine, we never lack for amuse- 



GYPSYING IN MAINE. 21 

ment. We have a compact little library in 
the valise. There is a great book all about 
us, which, for a reverent reader, hath ' a voice 
of gladness, and a smile and eloquence of 
beauty.' Now let the rain descend and the 
floods come and the winds blow ; we shall 
only lengthen our cords and strengthen our 
stakes. Here in this verdant, breezy solitude, 
far from the noise and the bustle of the 
world, we bid dull care away." 



CHAPTER II. 

A GYPSY* CLAM-BAKE. 

The Rev. Mr. Shayback was standing shoe- 
less on the rocks — lest, like the wicked, his 
feet should slide — inviting, with his fishing- 
pole, a few cunners to dine with him at one 
o'clock. The ladies had gone out to sail 
with George William, the young skipper. 
A thin veil of fog hung over the river and 
the hills. The landscape here is of the ut- 
most modesty, and veils of this material are 
deemed indispensable at this season of the 
year. The sound of oars up the river at- 
tracted the reverend angler's attention. Tom 
had not visited them at Fern Point since the 
eventful journey with the sorrel some days 
before. He had promised to come by water 
the next time. His presence was daily hoped 
for. There was a rent in the curtain of fog, 



A GYPSY CLAM-BAKE. 23 

and the long-expected boat, still wrapped in 
a haze of filmy blue, hove in sight. A wel- 
coming war-whoop rang over the rocks, and 
was answered from the boat and by the tire- 
less echoes in the neighboring hills, always 
on the watch to mimic our voices, yet doing 
it in such a natural and lovable way that we 
could not find fault with their mockery. The 
boat soon landed, with Tom, his wife, little 
Carl, and a friend. The camp was inspected, 
and pronounced a success ; the scenery was 
viewed, and extolled beyond measure ; but it 
was noticed that Tom's eyes seemed to rest 
with fondest admiration upon the shores of 
our cove. 

"Clams?" 

" Yes, a splendid clam-yard." 

"Mr. Shayback," said Tom, with the ten- 
derest emotion, " there is a void within which 
longs to be filled ; the fact is, I am in a 
half -starved condition, and nothinof will sat- 
isfy the unusual demands of my appetite but 
about half a bushel of those clams." 

" Thomas," said Mr. Shayback, with com- 



24 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

forting assurance, " you can draw on that 
clam-bank to any amount you wish. Your 
draft shall be honored. I will indorse your 
check immediately with a good spade." 

" A clam-bake, then it is ! " 

We borrowed a spade and a hoe from 
Captain Wright. It is easy to borrow when 
you are camping, — much easier to borrow 
than it is to return. This clam-bank pos- 
sessed an unusual amount of deposits, and, 
as the tide was low, we were just in banking 
hours, and found a ready payment. Mrs. 
Tom picked up and washed the bivalvular 
coin as it issued from the mint. 

" Poor creatures buried alive here under 
the soil, how thankful they must be to be 
exhumed from their living graves and com- 
mended to a more honorable destiny ! " And 
Mr. Shayback worked with that excess of 
zeal which many people exercise when they 
mistake their own pleasure for an act of 
charity to others. 

" This is the tru3 symbol of missionary 
work," thought Mr. Shayback ; " it is the 



A GYPSY CLAM-BAKE. 25 

minister's work to raise people from the 
mud ; " and he dug with still greater enthu- 
siasm. But when he thought of the roast 
which was to follow he found it more diffi- 
cult to reconcile it with his notions of salva- 
tion. However, he knew that the roast was 
but a finite evil, and that the bivalvular mar- 
tyrs simply suffered translation to a higher 
form of existence. What better use can be 
made of a clam or a fish than to make it 
minister, through the great law of sacrifice, 
to human development? Mr. Shayback has 
no sympathy with the wanton sportsman who 
destroys merely for the sake of the destruc- 
tion he wreaks ; who kills harmless creatures 
which neither he nor any one else can appro- 
priate. It seems to him only a lower form 
of murder when he hears of men shooting 
right and left into a herd of buffalo simply 
to see who can make the largest score. The 
same is true of superfluous fishing simply 
to get the largest catch. But when, at the 
suggestion of a hungry stomach, the bullet 
speeds to its mark, the hook establishes a 



26 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

welcome communication, — welcome, alas ! at 
but one end, — or the inquisitive spade pro- 
saically turns over a few fat clams, the moral 
conditions are altered. Think of the dignity 
to which this clam is elected. He leaves the 
low, earthy, brainless life which he has led, 
and by a process of rational, human selec- 
tion leaps at one bound clear over centuries 
of differentiation and myriads of intermedi- 
ate forms, and incorporates his life with that 
of humanity. His bland juices mingle with 
the ascending chyle, pulse through the gate- 
ways of the heart, bound on the crimson tide 
which bears fuel to bone and nerve, or burns 
with intellectual flame in the thought fires 
of the brain. Sudden and exalted ascen- 
sion! Instead of mounting the slow ladder 
of evolution, he is Elijah-like swiftly trans- 
lated into a higher realm of being. How 
much better than dying of stupidity in a 
mud flat ! 

Dame Shayback, Arline, and little Pusskin 
soon returned from their sail and assisted in 
excavating our seashore dinner. Meanwhile, 



A GYPSY CLAM-BAKE. 27 

Tom had gathered some stones and piled 
them up into a round, flat pile on a conven- 
ient rock near the shore, and built a good 
fire upon them. In thirty minutes the stones 
were thoroughly heated. The fire was then 
put out, the embers removed, the stones 
brushed perfectly clean with boughs, and a 
bushel of clams was dumped on the hot stones 
and completely covered with sea-weed. How 
they sizzled and steamed, and, opening their 
clammy mouths, prophesied of good things to 
come ! 

Bread and butter, crackers and condiments, 
were brought down from the tents. After 
ten minutes the sea-weed was removed, and 
our dinner was before us, spread upon its 
rocky table. 

The man who sits down at a clam-bake 
must have a digestion void of offense. He 
must ask no question for conscience' sake, 
but abandon himself with reckless temerity to 
the inviting opportunity. Thomas seemed 
to be exactly such a man. There was a hero- 
ism in his appetite which reminded one of 



28 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

the Charge of the Six Hundred, only it was 
the clams that entered the jaws of death. 
Some blueberries, a patent " surprise pud- 
ding " of Mrs. Shayback's invention, and a 
variety of incidentals, which if named would 
only excite envy, furnished the aftermath. 
So far as the dinner was concerned the motto 
of the company seemed to be, " Let justice 
be done though the heavens fall." But the 
heavens did not fall ; there was no rain and 
scarcely a cloud to mar the beauty of the 
day. 

The subsequent events of that day I will 
not describe ; but when we retired to our lux- 
urious couches that evening, Mrs. Shayback 
and Arline wrote in their journals as fol- 
lows : — 

Rose in the morning. 

[Time omitted, but fact undoubted.] 

Breakfast on mackerel, cunner, silver hake, rock cod, 
with oatmeal, milk, crackers, eggs, and blueberries. 

Sail with George William. 

Delightful clam-bake at noon with Mr. and Mrs. 
Tom. 



A GYPSY CLAM-BAKE. 29 

Bath in the cove at four o'clock. 

Fish chowder at five at Capt. Wright's. 

Game of croquet till 6.30 ; were beaten. [This part 
of the entry was written very indistinctly.] 

Sing at Mrs. H 's till 7.30. 

Swinging the hammock, drying dew-damp shoes over 
the kerosene stove, driving in tent-pins till 8.30. Good- 
night. 

tP ^ ^ ^ ^ "rr 

Three weeks of delightful camping on the 
Penobscot, and then the stars of heaven — 
not these faint imitations of the printer — 
and Mars with his red lantern and retinue 
of moons, looking down on Fern Point, 
failed to see the gypsies' home. And the 
good-natured pilot of the Cambridge, who 
so faithfully whistled a salute every time he 
passed the camp, missed one morning the 
gypsies' welcome. We had folded our tents 
like the Arabs and silently stolen away. 



CHAPTER III. 

A RAID ON CANADA. 

Mr. and Mrs. Shayback had tried a salt 
water camp ; they concluded that the next 
year they would try one on fresh water. The 
reverend gentleman, as summer approached, 
began to play " hickory dickory dock " on 
the maps of a much-neglected geography. 
But somehow his pencil nearly always landed 
too near some one of those little rings which 
on most maps are appropriately used to des- 
ignate cities. He was considering the expe- 
diency of consulting some map with fewer 
places on it, when suddenly his pencil dropped 
plump into the centre of "Lake Memphrema- 

gog" 

" Eureka," he said, as he recalled a rapid 
trip which he had made with Mrs. Shayback 
through that lake some years before. "Let 



A RAID ON CANADA. 31 

US leave our native land and enjoy the de- 
lights of expatriation in the wilds of Canada." 

" There are some beautiful islands in the 
lake," said Mrs. Shaybaek. " I have always 
wanted to camp on an island. It would be 
delightful to have one all to ourselves." 

Mr. Shaybaek recalled the populous piety 
and the early morning fervor of the North- 
port camp-meeting and said, " It would." 

It was just about this time that the eyes of 
all England were concentrated upon an island 
in the Mediterranean. Russia, Austria, and 
England had quarreled over the choicest 
morsels in the Eastern platter. Bismarck 
was carving to the best of his ability in the 
diplomatic conclave. But when the dinner 
was over, it was discovered that Beaconsfield 
had helped himself to a whole pie. The 
Queen presented him with a new garter and 
raised the flag of her dominion over the island 
of Cyprus. 

" What a delightful reprisal it would be," 
thought Mr. Shaybaek, "while the Empress 
Victoria is exulting over the acquisition of 



32 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

Cyprus, to steal softly up into Canada and 
capture one of her majesty's islands." Little 
did the Empress of India think, as she sat 
throned in her own imperiality, of the plot 
which was being concocted in the United 
States against one of the fairest portions of 
her Dominion. 

It took but a short time to organize the 
expedition. It was concluded that the lar- 
ger the party, the less likely it would be to 
succeed either in capturing the island or in 
enjoying its coveted solitude. It would save 
bloodshed, powder, and noise to seize the isl- 
and without letting her majesty know any- 
thing about it. The raiding party therefore 
simply consisted of six : namely, Rev. Mr. 
Shayback (in this enumeration I proceed from 
base to climax), Mrs. Shayback, Captain Cla- 
vis. Miss Futura Clavis, and Signorina Mezzo- 
fanti, who has one tongue by nature and a 
half-dozen by acquirement, and who consid- 
ers the conf usion-worse-conf oundedness of the 
tower of Babel a merciful device without 
which the science of philology would have 



A RAID ON CANADA. 33 

been impossible. Last, but not least, I must 
mention Miss Pusskin Shayback, aged five 
years, and her doll Anna, who early lost one 
foot in this piratical expedition, but shared 
the vicissitudes of camp life with an unfailing 
patience. 

About five o'clock on a certain afternoon 
in August, this hexagonal party of Americans 
quietly left the Passumpsic Railroad at New- 
port, Vermont. The rain which fell in tor- 
rents could not wholly dampen the ardor of 
their purpose. A few of them took refuge for 
the nig-ht under the shelterino^ eaves of the 
Memphremagog House, and a few plunged 
into the simple but abundant hospitality of a 
Canadian farmhouse. Thirty-six hours later 
the scattered forces of the expedition were 
reunited under a propitious sky, and a plan of 
operations agreed upon. Lord's Island, some 
twenty miles away, was selected as the objec- 
tive point. To be sure none of the party had 
visited it. They only knew that it possessed 
the first and most important attribute of an 
island, that of being entirely surrounded by 



34 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

water. But it was described by the captain 
of the Gracie as "a magnificent place to 
camp, half a mile each side from the main- 
land ; fine spring, splendid fishing, beautiful 
prospect." 

One of the most important instruments for 
the capture of an island is a suitable navy. 
As the Shaybacks had neither time to build 
nor means to purchase, they were obliged to 
hire. The Gracie is a small propeller, 
about forty feet long, with an eight-horse en- 
gine, a cozy cabin, and lines of beauty which 
make her in every way worthy of her name. 
Her services, including that of captain and 
engineer, were available for the reasonable 
sum of six dollars a day. 

" The very boat we need," said Mr. Shay- 
back ; and the Gracie was forthwith hired, 
and through the acquisition of Captain Cla- 
vis's double-barrel breech-loader, was placed 
upon a war footing. Mr. and Mrs. Shay- 
back and Pusskin embarked at the wharf with 
their luggage without exciting suspicions 
of hostile intent. A mile from Newport the 



A RAID ON CANADA. 35 

frigate, or, more literally, the gun-boat, was 
stopped to take aboard Captain Clavis, Miss 
Futura Clavis, and the Signorina, who with 
commendable enterprise had left the hotel 
and formed a temporary camp on a point of 
land. 

Thus armed and equipped the Gracie moved 
off into the broad and beautiful waters of the 
lake. Bearings were taken for a point on the 
east shore, about five miles away. As we en- 
tered the cove a little boat was seen moving 
from the shore. It was Cousin Joseph, 
proudly paddling in the Hippogrif , and bring- 
ing from home a pail of maple sugar, a tub 
of butternuts, and various other weapons to 
add to our arsenal. The Hippogrif, a flat- 
bottomed skiff, kindly loaned to us as a tender, 
was to enter upon a new and glorious destiny. 
" Tender " not only describes the function of 
the little craft, but also the feeHng which 
Joseph held towards it, and which in time we 
all came to share. The " Hippo," as we called 
it for short, was not modeled for speed or for 
beauty. She looks more like a coffin than 



36 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

anything else ; but her looks belie her func- 
tion, for she has proved to be as stanch as a 
whaler, and as dry as a prohibitionist. For 
waltzing on the water no boat can surpass 
her. With a single oarsman she will spin 
around on her flat bottom like a top, unless 
the box in her stern is filled with stones ; but 
you could hardly tip her over if you tried. 
She is as sound and trusty as Joseph her 
owner. 

With the Hippo tied behind, the Gracie 
moved on her way. We soon came to Prov- 
ince Island, part of which is in the United 
States and part in Canada. We look in vain 
in the lake for any evidence of the boundary 
line. The waters seem to have no more ten- 
dency to divide at that point than they do at 
any other, and the fish beneath, I presume, 
are profoundly unconscious that at one time 
they are swimming under the American flag 
and at another time under the British. The 
consciousness silently steals over us, however, 
that we are " abroad.'' We are beyond the 
protection and beyond the vengeance of 



A RAID ON CANADA. 37 

American laws. We are in the country which 
once held its aegis over the fugitive slave, and 
which now holds it over escaped bank presi- 
dents and truant cashiers. 

We ran into a Httle cove on the east shore 
to wood up. The discovery that our gun- 
boat was aground threatened to wreck the 
hopes of the expedition, which depended 
largely for its success upon our making a 
landing before sundown. The captain, how- 
ever, with his usual deliberation and compos- 
ure, seized the flag-staff, drew it from its 
socket, and rammed it into the ground. The 
boat slowly responded to his effort, and once 
more felt " the thrill of life along her keel." 

Again we abandon ourselves to the scenery, 
and to a careful digestion of the details of 
our plot. But Mrs. Shayback, who is sitting 
just forward of the pilot-house, begins to turn 
up her nose contemptuously at everything we 
say. 

" What is the matter, Mrs. Shayback ? " 

" Don't you smell anything ? " 

We snuff the air with our nostrils. We do 



38 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

smell something. We see, too, a little smoke 
curling from the hurricane - deck. The 
steamer is on fire, and two hundred and 
forty miles from Boston ! 

Joseph and Captain Clavis rush to the hur- 
ricane-deck to combat the devouring flames, 
while Mr. Shayback runs to the other end of 
the boat to alarm the fire department. We 
see imaginatively the tongue of fire curling to 
the mast-head. We see the whole steamer 
wrapped in flames ! We see the boy standing 
on the burning deck till all but him have fled, 
and wonder how he could be so foolish, when 
he might have gone off in a small boat. 

Captain Clavis was a walking arsenal, belted 
and loaded down with cartridges. Futura 
pleaded with him not to go too near the 
flames. Had he become ignited he would 
have gone off like a gatling gun. " Do be 
careful," she said. 

" I will," was the response, and he rushed 
into the flames with such renewed zeal that 
the devouring element was homoeopathically 
quenched by his inextinguishable ardor. 



A RAID ON CANADA. 39 

The danger over, a list of losses was taken. 
The fire, it appeared, was confined to the lug- 
gage. Our straw ticks were well scorched ; 
the Signorina had four holes burned through 
her waterproof. Several umbrellas were ven- 
tilated in the same way. Mr. Shayback's hat 
was scorched, and Futura received a burn on 
the back of her hand. 

Loss about five dollars. No insurance. 
As Futura had already pledged her hand to 
Captain Clavis, the damage done to that mem- 
ber was felt by him as a personal loss, and 
every one knew that Captain C. would rather 
have scorched his native hand ten times over 
than the one he had acquired by a judicious 
expenditure of the affections. 

During all this excitement the captain of 
the steamer stood manfully at his wheel. His 
usual deliberation did not desert him ; his in- 
difference was heroic. 

" Captain, did you know the steamer was 
on fire?" 

" Yes," said the captain ; " it gets on fire 
every day." 



40 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

He might have added, " and nobody suf- 
fers but the passengers." 

Mr. Shaybaek reported on the origin and 
cause of the fire. It originated, he said, in 
the fire under the boiler, and was soon com- 
municated to the smoka-stack, and thence fell 
in a shower of sparks on the hurricane-deck ; 
as the wind moved faster than the boat 
the sparks were thus carried forward of the 
wheel-house. The only way to prevent fu- 
ture conflagration in that stage of the wind 
was to run the boat stern foremost ; but a 
more effectual remedy would be to pour a few 
pails of water down the smoke-stack. 

" Do you see that island about three miles 
ahead of us?" asked the captain of the 
Gracie. " Well, that 's Lord's Island." 

All the latent Robinson Crusoeism of our 
natures was kindled by this announcement. 
Visions of the victory before us were painted 
by an over-heated imagination. We touched 
at Georgeville for a few minutes, a village 
with which we were ultimately to become 
much more familiar. None of the inhabit- 
ants suspected our predatory intentions. 



A RAID ON CANADA. 41 

Twenty minutes later we hove to on the 
west side of the island. Joseph, Captain 
Clavis, and Mr. Shayback proceeded to re- 
connoitre in the Hippogrif . They found the 
island guarded by two thousand British squir- 
rels, but not a mosquito or a black fly. It 
was further garrisoned by a dense growth of 
trees and underbrush. They stood together 
like a solid phalanx of the Queen's Own. 
Possession could only be gained by a vigorous 
use of the axe. On the south side, however, 
a small clearing was discovered, just large 
enough, by cutting away brake and under- 
brush, to admit three tents. We had come 
to take the island, and take it we must be- 
cause it was too late to take anything else. 
We returned to the Gracie for our baggage. 
Eeinforced by the rest of the party, except- 
ing Joe, who being a loyal Canadian went 
back with the steamer, the capture was quickly 
and bloodlessly made. Lord's Island was 
ours, and we were lords of the isle. 

We put up our tents, crowding them to- 
gether in the inhospitable clearing, and ate 
our supper. 



42 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

We had taken the island without blood ; 
but we were not to take it without water. 
There was not a single vessel of the Queen's 
navy on the lake to resent this invasion ; but 
our sentinels reported that a vast fleet of 
dark, and heavily armed clouds was gathering 
overhead. Had the Queen of England, like 
the Queen of Heaven, power over ^olus, who 
rules with imperial sway the reluctant winds 
and sounding tempests ? 

" 'T is thine, O Queen, to ask 
Whate'er thou wilt ; my part to do what bid." 

Regina was massing her forces for a night 
attack. The Shaybacks began to intrench 
themselves. They feared not that the enemy 
would succeed in storming the roof; their 
tent-flies would repel a heavy bombardment of 
rain and hail. They feared rather that, like 
the boys who find the vulnerable point of a 
circus, the enemy might crawl underneath. 
An axe does not seem a formidable weapon 
against a thunder-storm, but it is one of the 
best defenses a camper has. In the absence 



A RAID ON CANADA. 43 

of a spade, it makes a good intrenching-tool. 
With its aid the Shaybacks cut around their 
tents such a ditch as rocks and roots would 
permit. They spread their rubber blankets on 
the ground within, and their woolen blankets 
above them. Mother earth furnished the 
only mattress. Pusskin was swung in her 
hammock between the tent-poles, fearing 
neither the waters above the earth nor the 
waters under the earth. 

Thus fortified the Shaybacks laid them 
down to rest. They awoke a few hours later 
to witness one of the grandest Canadian 
thunder-storms that ever attacked an Ameri- 
can invader. How the artillery pealed, and 
the lightning flashed its glittering scimeter ! 
The rain poured in torrents. Repulsed on 
the roof, it fell dripping with defeat into the 
trench below. It channeled a river through 
Mr. Shayback's tent, but as the sleepers, with 
the camper's instinct, had made their beds on 
the high side of the ground, it compelled no 
surrender. Suddenly the sky was flushed 
with a bright light. The lightning had 



44 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

struck a barn on the west shore one or two 
miles away. We sallied forth during a lull 
in the rain to view the sight. If that blow 
were meant for us^ -^olus is a bad marks- 
man. 

A more genuine sense of alarm was expe- 
rienced by Mr. Shayback an hour later, when 
it suddenly occurred to him that the tide 
might have arisen and carried off the Hippo, 
our only boat, and that communication with 
the mainland would be difficult under such 
circumstances. He rushed down the bank to 
the lake shore. The Hippo was there, and 
Mr. Shayback was relieved. He pulled it up 
higher and saw that the fastening was secure. 
As he returned it occurred to him that the 
tide does not rise in fresh-water lakes. He 
defended himself against the logical gibes of 
the camp by saying that in such a storm even 
illogical precautions were necessary, and that 
a good strong dose of wind and wave might 
be equal to a high tide. 

The Shaybacks woke the next morning to 
find that the clouds had retreated, having 



A RAID ON CANADA. 45 

used up all their ammunition in a vain effort 
to dislodge the invaders. We were mon- 
archs of all we surveyed. By right of con- 
quest the island was informally annexed to 
the United States. 

Within twenty-four hours what had we 
accomplished? We had wrested an unin- 
habited island from the dominion of its own 
solitude ; we had established law and order ; 
instituted republican government; introduced 
the Christian religion; reorganized society on 
a cooperative basis ; effected a reform in 
labor ; secured the rights of woman ; founded 
a free public library of a dozen volumes, and 
opened a school of practical philosophy. 
" And now," said Mr. Shayback, " all that 
remains to be done with this island is to 
abandon it as soon as possible." 

It need hardly be said that the conquest 
of the island thus recited was a great vic- 
tory. It sounds better to call it so. Mr. 
Shay back has such an ear for music that he 
cannot bear to hear it caUed anything else. 



4:6 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

But when I asked the reverend gentleman 
whether it was a victory for us or for the isl- 
and he smiled compassionately. Yet it is a 
strange fact that after we had conquered the 
island none of us wanted to stay there. The 
thirst for conquest had been excited. We 
sighed for new worlds. That is the way Mr. 
Shayback preferred to look at it. There 
was another way of looking at it. It was 
the Jonah way. When Jonah captured the 
whale he undoubtedly felt that he had 
achieved a great victory. He had secured a 
whole whalcj — a whale all to himself ! Yet 
as he quietly reviewed his prophetic career, 
and took an internal view of his prophetic 
situation, he must have felt that his scope for 
exultation was Hmited. The great majority 
of the party felt very much the same as the 
en whaled prophet. We had captured a whole 
island ! We were its sole human occupants ! 
We had won a signal victory. But as we 
took an internal view of our situation we 
somehow felt that there was still opportunity 
for humility. We found ourselves on an 



A RAID ON CANADA. 47 

island of about one hundred acres, covered 
with a heavy growth of cedar and birch. 
Exploration disclosed a small clearing in the 
centre, but so thickly covered with brake 
and bramble that pedestrianism was slow and 
unprofitable. The ground was moist and 
thickly strewn with dead leaves. There was 
a luxuriant growth of ferns. We had pitched 
our tents on the desolate site of an old camp. 
There was no view, no spring, no brook, no 
field, no sandy beach. 

Mr. Mallock has written the history of 
" Positivism on an Island." The conditions 
here, however, were essentially negative. The 
only thing positive was the positive discom- 
fort. It was a splendid island to give away 
to somebody. 

Accordingly, the next morning Captain 
Clavis and Mr. Shayback manned the Hippo- 
grif and started on a voyage of discovery to 
the mainland. They were successful in find- 
ing an attractive spot some two miles nearer 
the village, — a delightful combination of 
grove, beach, brook, and point, which seemed 



4:8 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

to have been made expressly for their purpose. 
An extra boat and boatmen were hired, but 
it was no little work to effect the removal from 
the island to Merriman's Point, with a high 
wind, a rough lake, and boats heavily laden ; 
but when the transfer was made, and the 
camp was fairly settled, the Shaybacks could 
claim as their summer home one of the most 
beautiful sites on one of the most beautiful 
lakes of the northern chain. 



CHAPTER IV. 

MEMPHREMAGOG. 

" Memphremagog/' said the principal of 
a New York grammar school, "that is in 
Maine, is n't it?" 

Mr. Shayback smiled a tender geographi- 
cal rebuke. GHmpses of latitude and longi- 
tude flashed in mild commiseration from his 
eyes. Think not that all the " quoddies," 
" gogs," " wippis," and " bagoes," are in 
Maine. Maine, to be sure, is one of the 
most dropsical places in the United States, 
judging from the amount of lake water it 
holds in its geographical body, and it is pep- 
pered all over with unpronounceable names ; 
but it is not the only place where the Indian 
tongue has wrought its ravages. If you con- 
sult the Koran you will find that the Scrip- 
tural Gog and Magog are north of the Can- 



50 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

casus; and if you as religiously consult a 
map of the United States you will find that 
the unscriptural Memphremagog begins in 
the northern part of Vermont ; that it is, in- 
deed, a sheet of water hanging over the inter- 
national boundary line, one third of it drip- 
ping into the United States, and the other 
two thirds into Canada. If you subject this 
word to the tortures of philological inquisi- 
tion, the meaning it confesses is " beautiful 
water." Whether the etymology is truthful 
I have no means of knowing ; but there are 
so many Indian words meaning " beautiful 
water " that suspicion would naturally be 
aroused if this one meant anything else. 
And if, in the vicissitudes of language, 
" beautiful water " should get detached from 
any other scenery, whether in the Trosachs, 
the Alps, or the Sierra Nevadas, and should 
seek a new location, I do not know where 
these words could more truthfully settle their 
significance than on the name of Memphre- 
magog. 

It is nine years since the Shaybacks first 



MEMPHREMAGOG. 51 

made the raid described in the preceding 
chapter upon an island in the Canadian por- 
tion of that lake, violently wrested it from 
the dominion of the Queen, and, after camp- 
ing two nights in dolorous discomfort in the 
brakes and bushes of its solitude, finally dis- 
covered and took possession of an ideal camp- 
ing-place on the main shore. Many years 
before that time the first settlers on the 
eastern shore of Lake Memphremagog had 
landed at this very point, and slept there the 
first night of their sojourn, from which fact 
it had received the prosaic name of " Bed- 
room Point." But the landing of the Shay- 
backs on this charming little peninsula had 
all the zest of fresh discovery. History had 
repeated itself, and has continued to repeat 
itself ever since : for the Shaybacks migrate 
to Memphremagog in the middle of August 
as naturally as the birds of that lovely region 
fly south at the approach of winter. So 
subtle is the charm which this sheet of water 
and its surrounding mountains weave over 
the lover of nature that it is difficult to 



52 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

break it after he has once come under its 
spell. For two or three years past the Shay- 
backs have vainly tried to go somewhere else, 
but have not been finally able to make up 
their minds to drink their summer pleasure 
wholly from another cup. Mr. Shayback ex- 
plains it on scientific principles. The mag- 
netic pole, he asserts, is not located at Boothia 
Felix, but in the vicinity of Memphremagog. 
And as the Shaybacks have a considerable 
quantity of iron in their constitutions, they 
invariably point towards the north. 

It is not easy to analyze all the currents of 
influence which produce this state of attrac- 
tion. The wild, natural beauty of the region 
is a large element in the total. The associa- 
tions formed by repeated visits have much to 
do with it. One cannot catalogue the beauty 
of a landscape any more than he can cata- 
logue the beauty of a poem by naming the 
words it contains. Emerson's "Each and 
All " is the true exposition of the fascination 
of natural beauty. The scenery of Memphre- 
magog is incisive, vigorous, robust. Its fea- 



MEMPHREMAGOG. 53 

tures are distinct, salient, characteristic. Here 
is a sheet of water thirty miles long, and 
from one to four miles wide. It cannot claim, 
like Winnipesaukee, a wealth of island jew- 
elry, but the brooch and studs it wears are 
enough to adorn without destroying the unity 
of its shining bosom. Its shores are heavily 
wooded, and for the most part bold and 
rugged, but at times gently subsiding into 
sloping beaches. 

OwFs Head is the special mountain guar- 
dian of the " beautiful water " that nestles at 
its base. It rises abruptly from the lake for 
nearly three thousand feet. It is a hairy 
giant, a mountain Esau, covered with a heavy 
growth of forest from base to peak. To 
only one mountain in Lower Canada does it 
yield preeminence, and that is Mount Orford, 
which rises grandly to the north about six 
miles from the foot of the lake. Orford is 
but three hundred feet higher ; but this is 
enough to earn for it the title of the highest 
mountain in Lower Canada. Its head is as 
bald as that of Elisha, except when some soft, 



54 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP, 

fleecy cloud kindly settles like a nightcap on 
its crown. Little Orford is rooted not far 
away from the paternal mountain. And all 
around them are grouped children of a 
younger and less ambitious generation. Still 
another bold and striking figure forms a part 
of the moutanic community which holds the 
lake in its cup. Elephantis does not belie its 
name. Viewed from the eastern shore of the 
lake, where the Shaybacks camp, it is an 
almost perfect outline of a sitting elephant, 
its trunk stretched out on the ground before 
it. We almost wonder that the Great Show- 
man has not tried to capture it for his me- 
nagerie. This is the only elephant, perhaps, 
that his gold could not move. 

Back of Elephantis the sky line is serrated, 
curved, and broken by numerous hills and 
mountains, which would be famous if dropped 
out on a Western prairie, but which in Can- 
ada, where mountains are cheap, have not 
received the honor of a name. Far to the 
south of Owl's Head, Jay Peak pierces the 
sky. Mount Hor and Mount Willoughby 



MEMPHREMAGOG. 55 

stand like a pair of twins, holding a water- 
bucket — and a charming bucket is Lake 
Willoughby — between them. Once, on a 
remarkably clear day, from the pilot-house of 
the Lady of the Lake, I was able to see, if 
Captain Fogg, who furnished the only mis- 
tiness on the occasion, was not mistaken, the 
top of Mount Washington blending with the 
sky. 

This is the setting of Memphremagog, — 
a setting of which it may well be proud. 
The head of the lake rests in Vermont, its 
feet and its two broad arms lie in Canada. 
Nestling peacefully in the lap of the moun- 
tains, it is a sleeping beauty. Torn by winds 
and storms, it is maniacal in its fury. It is a 
lake of many moods : amiable, placid, serene, 
rippling with breezy smiles, or frenzied by 
tumultuous passion. Its scenery is pictur- 
esque, its sunsets gorgeous, and among its 
negative virtues we may mention the absence 
of fogs, mosquitoes, and black flies. 

One element in the charm of Memphre- 
magog is the general aspect of wildness which 



56 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

still reigns on its shores. There are a few 
tasteful villas on the eastern side and a hotel 
at the base of Owl's Head; but between 
Newport and Magog, which lie at the ex- 
tremities of the lake, there is but one little 
village on the immediate shore. There is a 
sense of solitude which civilization has not 
yet exorcised. The Lady of the Lake, the 
Memphremagog, the Mountain Maid, and oc- 
casionally the Newport, plow the clear water 
in front of the Shaybacks' camp, but the 
sound of the locomotive whistle is not heard. 
The mournful, lonely cry of the loon, break- 
ing into a hysterical laugh hardly less plain- 
tive than its wail, is a familiar note. Nature, 
not art, rules at Memphremagog, and Mr. 
Shayback believes that the only way one can 
fairly enter into sympathy with it here is 
through the medium of a life without con- 
ventionality, conforming to the simplicity of 
nature, and partaking of its wild, luxurious 
freedom ; in other words, through the medium 
of camp-life. To worship at this shrine one 
needs to take the shoes from off his feet. 



MEMPHREMAGOG. 57 

Mr. Shayback accordingly goes barefooted 
half the time. 

But those who are more dependent upon 
shoemakers, shingle roofs, spring beds, and 
other appliances of civilization, are not de- 
prived of the privilege of a sojourn on Mem- 
phremagog. It is one of the great advantages 
of the lake that though preserving its orig- 
inal simplicity and wildness of character it is 
still easily accessible to lines of travel. There 
are portions of it — such for instance as at 
the head of Sargent's Bay — where the visitor 
might seclude himself from all contact with 
the outer world, and live in a hermitical re- 
tirement equal to that which he would find in 
the wilds of Canada farther north ; but if he 
wishes to feel the pulse-beat of civilization 
through the telegraph and the daily mail, he 
may enjoy these recognized privileges in any 
of the three villages which lie on the lake. 

Of these three villages Newport is the 
largest. It is situated about two miles from 
the head of the lake, and about five miles 
south of the boundary line. As it is on the 



58 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

direct line from Montreal to Boston, it fur- 
nishes a tempting place for the traveler to 
break his journey between these points. The 
Memphremagog House is well known as one 
of the largest and most comfortable of sum- 
mer hotels. Many business men from both 
Boston and Montreal who do not mind the 
proximity of a locomotive take rooms here 
during the summer. The view of the lake 
from the shore itself does not do justice to 
its beauty ; but from Prospect Hill, above 
the town, a much better idea of its extent 
and picturesqueness may be formed. New- 
port has all the characteristics of a thriving 
Vermont town. From this point the steamer 
Lady of the Lake makes excursions through 
the lake twice a day, usually running to 
Georgeville, twenty miles, in the morning, and 
in the afternoon to Magog, at the foot of the 
lake. The latter village now has direct com- 
munication by railroad with Montreal. It is 
smaller than Newport, and its hotel accommo- 
dations are divided up between two or three 
houses. Within the last two years, however, 



MEMPHREMAGOG. 59 

a cotton factory has been established in this 
village, which has drawn a large number of 
hands and accelerated the growth of the 
place. 

The third village we have named, George- 
ville, is of more special interest to the campers, 
because it is their base of supplies. It is 
about twenty miles from the head of the lake 
and ten miles from Magog. It is a small 
Canadian hamlet, containing, when its summer 
boarders are subtracted, about one hundred 
inhabitants, two churches, a school, a post- 
office, two blacksmith shops, and a new and 
large hotel. Georgeville is one of the most 
self-possessed towns in Canada ; a single wire 
and a daily mail-bag keep it in communication 
with the outside world. The two daily events 
in the life of the hamlet are the arrival of the 
steamboat twice a day with the latest intelli- 
gence from the United States, and the en- 
trance of the mail-bag, which comes by wagon 
a distance of about ten miles. Being within 
two hours' sail of the United States, it has an 
international interest in the great events which 



60 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

occur on both sides of the line. But no 
breezes of intelligence from any direction ever 
disturb the perfect serenity of its peace. In 
the course of several years' acquaintance I 
have never known GeorgeviUe to exhibit a 
state of excitement save on two occasions. 
Once when Lord Dufferin, in 1878, stopped 
for a few minutes at the village ; the other, 
when it was rumored that a certain small 
steam-yacht, described in a subsequent chap- 
ter, was sinking. GeorgeviUe enjoys the dis- 
tinction of possessing a little world of its own. 
The simplicity of the town has not been 
perverted. The supreme deliberation of its 
inhabitants is sometimes exasperating to a 
nervous American, but it is exactly the sed- 
ative he needs. He soon catches the influence 
of its soporific spirit, and takes an hour to do 
a job or an errand which he could do com- 
fortably in thirty minutes. 

The old Camperdown Hotel, with the sen- 
tinel evergreens which stood like grenadiers 
in front of its portals, was one of the pic- 
turesque features of the place, and harmonized 



MEMPHREMAGOG. 61 

with the primitive fashion and comfortable 
inactivity of the little town. It was con- 
stantly crowded with more boarders than it 
could hold, and under an impulse of enter- 
prise a company was formed, which has built 
a large and not very picturesque hotel capa- 
ble of accommodating one hundred and fifty 
guests. The presence of such a large hotel 
in these primitive surroundings seems like a 
new and conspicuous patch upon an old gown. 
It is evidence, however, that a number of peo- 
ple have found out that this village is about 
the most beautiful point on the lake for a 
summer sojourn. I cannot speak of George- 
ville without bearing testimony to the uniform 
kindness, generosity, and courtesy of its in- 
habitants. In their monthly sojourn, which 
has covered a period of eight years, the Shay- 
backs have never suffered from any intrusion 
whatever, and have had constant occasion to 
be o^rateful for services received. 

Another resort which has many attractions 
for the summer visitor is the Mountain House, 
at the foot of Owl's Head. To those espe- 



62 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

cially who enjoy mountain climbing the situ- 
ation of the hotel at the base of the mountain 
is very convenient. The Mountain House 
was for a while suffered to lapse into decay, 
but it has since been refitted and furnished, 
and affords a beautiful and secluded retreat. 
Opposite the Mountain House, across the lake, 
is Bay View, a grove which serves as an at- 
tractive goal for various excursions from New- 
port and Magog. 

The number of private residences on Lake 
Memphremagog is small compared with those 
that adorn Lake George. On the west side 
of the lake, in its whole length from Newport 
to Magog, there is scarcely a purely summer 
residence that I know of. On the east shore 
the most conspicuous summer home is that of 
the late Sir Hugh Allan. It is situated about 
four miles south of Georgeville, on a penin- 
sula which commands a beautiful view of the 
lake. The surrounding grounds are well 
cultivated and tastefully laid out. Sir Hugh 
Allan was the owner of a large and beautiful 
steam yacht, made after the model of the 



MEMPHREMAGOG. 63 

ocean steamers of the " Allan Line." Since 
his death the steamer has been removed from 
the lake. Mr. Alexander Molson, of Mon- 
treal, has a farm and residence on the east 
shore, above that of Sir Hugh Allan and near 
Molson Island. The bay formed on the in- 
side of this island, protected as it is from the 
severest storms of the lake, is one of the most 
delightful and retired spots of Memphrema- 
gog. Another Montreal gentleman has re- 
cently erected a fine house on a bluff near 
Georgeville, commanding a noble view of the 
lake and surrounding country. There are 
some other places on the east shore which 
might deserve an enumeration if we were 
writing a guide-book, but the visitor is on the 
whole surprised that this lovely lake should 
have remained so long in the possession of 
the farming community by which it is sur- 
rounded. 

The principal islands in the lake are Prov- 
ince Island, Whetstone Island, Long Island, 
Molson Island, and Lord's Island, to which 
the reader has been introduced in a previous 



64 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

chapter. There are various other smaller 
islands, mostly lying in the southern part of 
the lake. 

Beyond its natural and perennial beauty 
Lake Memphremagog has little to offer to 
those who seek natural scenery as they go to 
a museum to find unique and curious things. 
Skinner's Cave, which figures in the guide- 
books, is simply an insignificant cleft in a rock 
on an island which takes its name from a 
traditional smuggler. Balance Rock is a 
huge bowlder upon the end of an island. It 
is said to be so nicely balanced upon its 
centre that it can be moved by a slight touch. 
Memphremagog must rather depend upon the 
general charm of mountain, forest, island, and 
water, than upon any eccentric curiosities. It 
is an excellent point from which excursions 
may be made into the interesting country 
about it. Montreal is about sixty miles away, 
and may be reached by rail from Newport at 
the southern end of the lake, or from Magog 
at the northern end. There is also connection 
at Magog with Sherbrooke, and thence to 



MEMPHREMAGOG. 65 

Quebec. Stanstead, one of the most enter- 
prising towns in Canada, is but fourteen miles 
away, and the road leads over some of the 
steepest of Canadian hills. There are a dozen 
lakes of smaller proportion inviting visits from 
the tourist and fisherman. 

The most direct way of reaching Memphre- 
magog from New York is by way of Spring- 
field, Massachusetts, thence north to Well's 
River and by the Passumpsic road to New- 
port. From Boston, by the Boston, Concord, 
and Montreal line. By this route the day 
traveler has the advantage of a good view of 
Lake Winnipesaukee. The Shaybacks feel 
that their summer trip has not been quite 
complete unless they return through the White 
Mountains, to enjoy the magnificent scenery 
of the Notch. 



\ 



CHAPTER V. 

A FAMILY CAMP. 

There are two or three methods of camp- 
ing-out. One of them is known as " rough- 
ing it." It represents the minimum of com- 
fort and the maximum of privation. The 
writer has fully tested its novelties, exhila- 
rations, and discomforts. To bivouac under 
the cotton-wood trees — on a rapid cavalry 
marchj with a McClellan saddle for a pillow, 
a rubber blanket for a mattress, an overcoat 
for a bed cover — is a luxurious state of pri- 
vation, which becomes commonplace only 
when it becomes monotonous. To go twenty- 
four hours without water, to camp where 
there is no wood to cook your meals, to fill a 
blank in one's existence for several days with 
hardtack and bacon, to sleep on the deck of 
an upper Missouri steamer in a snow-storm, 



A FAMILY CAMP. 67 

to endure pelting rain and howling winds, 
have become familiar experiences. A singu- 
lar ambition exists among amateur campers 
to emulate these distresses of the professional. 
The proud heroism of the boy-camper exhib- 
its itself in an utter disdain for the comforts 
which are within his reach. The fewer con- 
veniences he has the more sublime seems his 
self-denial. Only when his abstinence has 
risen to its full height — which is usually 
the height of the ridiculous — can he descend 
again to the level of ordinary mortals. The 
Shaybacks have long since passed by the 
heroic stage of camp life. They have discov- 
ered the happy medium between the enervat- 
ing luxuries of a highly-wrought civilization 
and the rude asperities of savage life. The 
sybaritic camper is an offense to them on the 
one hand, and the barbaric camper on the 
other. To borrow an expression in use 
among Western campers, which indicates the 
ideal of thorough preparation, the Shaybacks 
always go " well-heeled." Their object is to 
get the most comfort consistent with the most 



68 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

freedom; to get the most healthful enjoy- 
ment at the cheapest rates. 

Adam was the first camper-out. He found, 
as many a modern camper has done, that it is 
not good to live alone, even in Eden. The 
mere duplication of male society would not 
remove the sense of want. Eve was essential 
to the completeness of the Edenic camp. It 
was the serpent which was superfluous. The 
Shaybacks have long since accepted the ideal 
of Genesis. They have chosen an Eden for 
their camp-ground, and have always main- 
tained that every Adamic member should be 
neutralized by an Eve. Little Cain and Abel 
are taken along too, on condition that they 
will not club each other, and their sisters 
accompany them. But the sinuous serpent 
is not considered an element of felicity, and 
when, one summer, a young daughter of Eve 
in our camp suddenly found a serpent in her 
tent, far from being charmed by its guileful 
persuasions, she seized her little brother in 
her arms, and, though barely able to carry 
him, heroically removed him from the scene 



A FAMILY CAMP. 69 

of temptation, and summoned the destroying 
angel. 

It was written in the book of Beginnings to 
start with, and the Shay backs write it yearly 
in the book of Continuations, that the best 
camp is the family camp. A purely mascu- 
line camp is generally like its camp - biscuit, 
an over-done or half-baked affair. And the 
purely feminine camp is a concentration of 
sweetmeats, like a mince pie without any 
crust. A judicious proportion of children is 
another necessary element. A camp baby is 
a delightful luxury, but it should be past the 
gristly stage, able to waddle like a duck, to 
talk broken English, to find its mouth with a 
spoon, to laugh when it bruises the stones 
with its head, to serve as ballast in a row- 
boat, to sport like a little nymph at its daily 
bath, and to sleep twelve hours out of the 
twenty-four. Such a little joker is the best 
camp trump. Little Mattie, but eighteen 
months old, was one year the j oiliest member 
of Camp Merriman, and completely realized 
the ideal of a camp baby. 



70 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

The little four-year-old of Fern Point is 
now fourteen. She has spent a month of the 
summer in this way for the last ten years. I 
am sure there would be a miniature salt water 
lake in each eye if told that she must spend 
the next summer at some fashionable hotel 
instead of in her tent on the wooded shores 
of Memphremagog. 

There are many families in moderate cir- 
cumstances who are puzzled every year to 
know how to spend the summer vacation to 
the best advantage. Let two or three such 
families join together and camp on the coop- 
erative plan, and, if properly organized, they 
will be loath to turn again to the tame insi- 
pidity of hotel or boarding-house life. All 
that is necessary to make such a venture suc- 
cessful is the faculty of knowing how. The 
Shaybacks have no copyright on their method, 
and freely offer the benefit of their experi- 
ence. 

The size of the party will usually vary in 
inverse proportion to the sqviare of the dis- 
tance. The Shaybacks have found that a 



A FAMILY CAMP. 71 

party of a dozen is large enough, though 
they have never entertained a superstition 
against sitting down to a table of thirteen. 
At their last year's camp the dominant num- 
ber was sixteen. Of these eight were adults 
and eight children, the latter ranging in age 
from six to fifteen, and symmetrically divided 
into four boys and four girls. 

In the next place the Shaybacks always 
have a definite plan to begin mth. An in- 
dividual camper may start off without know- 
ing where he is going to bring up, but, for 
a family camp, especially when children are 
along, it is important to have the destination 
fixed with as much definiteness as possible. 
Another essential for a good family camp is 
that it should be a permanent one for the 
season. With a party of tourists there is a 
certain novelty in adopting the nomadic habit 
of camping in a new place every night, but 
this generally involves too much labor, and is 
too precarious for a family party. If a good 
site can be found it is better to stick to it, to 
make it as comfortable as possible, and to use 



72 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

it as the point from which radiating excur- 
sions can be made. The Shaybacks once 
thought it desirable^ to have a new camp 
every summer, and many campers prefer this 
plan. But, having found an ideal camping- 
ground on Memphremagog, they discovered 
that a certain home feeling was developed the 
first year, that it grew into an affectionate 
attachment the second year, and that each 
succeeding experience enhances the pleasure 
of the association. 

If there is an exhilarating sense of novelty 
in going to a new place every summer, there 
is a kindly, homelike feeling growing from as- 
sociations which are tenderly familiar. There 
is only one thing pleasanter than striking new 
chords of emotion, and that is striking those 
that are old. There are many places that 
might awaken a sense of novelty and whet the 
edge of curiosity, but there is no place for a 
summer outing which awakens sunnier emo- 
tions in the Shaybacks than the sleepy little 
hamlet near which they camp. Not so much 
for the little village itself, as for the inviting 



A FAMILY CAMP. 73 

and boundless contiguity of shade that lies 
around it, and the mysterious fascination of 
the waters that spread out before it. And 
with the touch of nature there is a pleasing 
touch of humanity. The old stagers are on 
the wharf ; for they knew that we were 
coming. Brawny hands are extended, and 
wrinkled faces smile with kindly welcome. 

It is a great advantage to know before you 
set out on your trip just what you are going 
to have when you reach your destination. 
When a new camping-ground is to be found, 
unless the locality is familiar, a scout or ex- 
plorer should be sent in advance of the party, 
that the site may be selected and transporta- 
tion secured. Another advantage of camp- 
ing two or three years in or near the same 
place is that the heaviest and bulkiest of the 
camp kit may be stored somewhere near the 
grounds, and yearly transportation avoided. 
Those who adopt the nomadic plan of camp- 
ing are obliged to go as light armed as pos- 
sible. The writer once camped for four 
months on the Plains, making a new camp 



74 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

almost every night, and nearly all his worldly 
goods, except the clothes he had on, and a 
few little conveniences in a valise, were packed 
in an oat-bag or rolled up in his blankets. 
Only that which is absolutely essential should 
be taken on such an expedition. The writer 
remembers, however, that although officers 
and men were limited to twenty-five pounds 
of baggage each, yet one zealous lieutenant 
managed to smuggle along a Webster's Una- 
bridged Dictionary. Why this volume was 
taken out on a campaign against the Indians 
I have never been able to discover. It is not 
a convenient missile ; the Indians are opposed 
to the spelKng reform on principle ; logoma- 
chy had not then become a social game. In 
a permanent camp, although one may not in- 
dulge in such " unabridged " luxuries, a wider 
range of comforts is permitted. 

" Good heavens ! what luggage ! " said a 
Canadian woman, as she saw the Shaybacks' 
effects piled up on the landing. It was, in- 
deed, a motley array of bedding, boxes, bags, 
and bundles ; such as one may see at Castle 



A FAMILY CAMP. 75 

Garden with a party of newly arrived emi- 
grants, and were we not emigrants on Cana- 
dian soil ? It is not a well-ordered barrel, or 
a symmetrical box, which awakens suspicions 
of vagrancy. It is the roll of bedding tied 
up in a piece of old carpet, and heavily 
corded, the oat-bag filled with tent-pins, or 
some plethoric, shapeless bundle, a little out 
at the elbows, which creates the suspicion 
that the owner has just graduated from the 
poor-house, and has embarked for some new 
domain of pauperism. In later years the 
Shaybacks, to save transportation, have 
adopted the plan suggested of storing most 
of their tents, cooking utensils, and camp-fix- 
tures in the little village of Georgeville, about 
a mile and a half from their camp-ground. 
Notwithstanding this the amount of personal 
material to be transported each year for the 
party of twelve is considerable, and Mr. 
Shayback found, last summer, when the train 
moved off from the Lowell depot, that he 
had nineteen brass checks in his pocket. At 
this number the supply of checks gave out. 



76 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

and a piece of chalk was used for the rest of 
the baggage. Other important articles for 
the camp commissary are shipped by freight 
a few days in advance of the departure. Ar- 
riving at Newport, Vermont, these various 
articles are collected on board of the Lady 
of the Lake, and, after a night's rest at the 
Memphremagog House, the Shaybacks steam 
for George ville, eighteen miles away. Here 
the articles stored are gathered together on the 
wharf — and a formidable pile they present. 
A great barge or scow, like a Mississippi flat- 
boat, propelled by long sweeps, is procured, 
and all the things are piled in with tumultu- 
ous disorder. The campers gleefully tumble 
in also to fill up the chinks. The row-boats 
are taken in tow behind, and the great barge 
moves off with as much gravity as Noah's 
Ark, which it greatly resembles, except that 
it has not a house on top. When it show- 
ers, therefore, as it occasionally does just 
after the barge is pushed off, the Noachians 
cover themselves with waterproofs and tar- 
paulins and hide their diminished heads under 



A FAMILY CAMP. 77 

the protection of the tents which are spread 
over the chattels. 

Although the Shaybacks come from a for- 
eign country there are no commissioners of 
emigration to set a price on their heads, and 
the only formality which marks this transit 
from the great RepubHc to the great Domin- 
ion is the inspection of the customs, which is 
more a matter of etiquette than of personal 
or official curiosity. Noah's ark moves slowly 
into the little bay, and finally grounds its 
broad prow upon the sand. A census taken 
on the spot would show that there were four 
families and a baker's dozen of souls added 
to the population of Canada. An inventory 
of the cargo in the barge, as declared on Mr. 
Shayback's manifesto, reads surprisingly like 
one of Mr. Walt Whitman's poems. Six 
tents : one 9^x6^ feet ; one 8jx9i ; one 
12x18; one 10x12. These serve as camp 
dormitories ; a capacious tent, 12 X 14, is used 
as a parlor and general rendezvous, a small 
one, 7x7, is dedicated to the kitchen, and a 
large fly set out in the grove serves as a din- 



78 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

ing-room tent. Four fair-sized trunks and 
six valises contain articles of wearing ap- 
parel. For the ladies there are short flannel 
dresses with warm jackets, heavy shawls, 
broad-brimmed hats, rubber circulars, coats 
and shoes, bathing-dresses, shoe-bags, hoods, 
flannel wrappers to sleep in, and the usual as- 
sortment of curling-sticks, hair-pins, mirrors, 
and ribbons which make up essential features 
of a lady's outfit. For the gentlemen there 
are overcoats, both woolen and rubber, a ju- 
dicious supply of underwear, and enough old 
clothing to stock a Chatham Street dealer. 
Nothing contributes more to the freedom of 
camp life than to be clad in raiment which is 
beyond redemption, and therefore beyond the 
possibility of spoiling. At the close of the 
season there are always fishermen who can 
utilize the disreputable vestiges which are 
left. Furthermore, there are huge bundles 
of blankets, half a dozen hammocks ; an axe, 
three hatchets, two saws, a spade, a hammer, 
nails, spikes, screws, gimlets, a brace and bits, 
a full set of tin plates, cups and saucers, 



A FAMILY CAMP. 79 

plated knives, forks, and spoons ; empty ticks 
for bedding to be filled with straw at the 
barn ; two barrels of pots and kettles, three 
cots, two lanterns, a supply of rope of vari- 
ous sizes, kerosene stoves, oven, double-boiler, 
and tea-kettle, a barrel of kerosene oil, and, 
among the instruments of torture, a vioHn, 
flute, and cornet. Many o^ these effects rep- 
resent the accumulation of several years, and 
illustrate one advantage of camping in the 
same place. 

The Shaybacks always make liberal provi- 
sion for the camp cuisine. The fear of famine 
does not haunt them. The packages of mer- 
chandise sent by freight contain a supply of 
provisions, the bill of which lies before me, 
and which may be suggestive to other excur- 
sionists. It contains such items as tea, coffee, 
canned tongue, dried apples, canned pears, 
apricots, cherries, berries, tomatoes, peaches, 
raspberries, pineapples, sardines ; sugar, oat- 
meal, rye, graham meal, raisins, prunes, cur- 
rants, dates, walnuts, soap, sapolio, barley, 
cracked wheat, tapioca, rice, saleratus, isin- 



80 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

glass, sea-mosSj salt, macaroni, chocolate, oil, 
olives, candles, yeast powder, corn starch, 
matches, ginger snaps, oatmeal biscuit, and 
pilot bread. The quantities of those articles 
are judiciously determined by the size of the 
party and its gastronomic reputation. Neces- 
saries not included in this invoice can usually 
be found in the vicinage of the camp. Here 
is a great aquarium thirty miles long in front 
of the tent doors, with a constant supply of 
perch, and a somewhat inconstant supply of 
lake trout and other fish. The butcher from 
Stanstead makes a bi-weekly trip to George- 
ville, bringing good beef and the best of 
Canadian mutton. Milk, eggs, butter, pota- 
toes, and other vegetables can be obtained at 
the farmhouse less than half a mile away. 
There is a great sugar orchard almost within 
a stone's throw from the camp, and our sum- 
mer life is daily sweetened by its product. 
Sixteen miles east, over some of the steepest 
hills that a horse ever climbed, there is an old- 
fashioned farmhouse. With telescopic eyes 
the inmates see the Shaybacks coming weeks 



A FAMILY CAMP. 81 

ahead, and as David, in Hebraic times, car- 
ried parched corn, loaves, and cheeses to his 
brethren in camp, so Joseph the Muscular in- 
variably visits his Shayback cousins with 
loaves of graham bread, a bag of apples, a 
can of maple syrup, a mould of butter, and 
numerous other goodies, including some con- 
traband doughnuts ripened in his mother's 
kitchen. 



CHAPTER VI. 

GETTING SETTLED. 

A GENEROUS camp-larder will repair a 
good many deficiencies, but it will not atone 
for a poor camp-site. The Shaybacks think 
that the several requisites for a good camp- 
ground were realized in their old camp at Bed- 
room Pointj and their new one on Bigelow's 
Bay, which they call the " Camp by the cliff." 
At the former, the tents were placed in the 
bottom of a U-shaped wall of cedar and 
hemlock, which protected them from north- 
erly and southerly winds, and left a beautiful 
vista opening upon the water. A pleasant lit- 
tle cove, with sloping, sandy beach, made an 
excellent place for bathing ; but the principal 
charm of the spot was the shady peninsula, 
running out into the lake, where the Shay- 
backs might swing in their hammocks, catch 



GETTING SETTLED. 83 

the soft summer breezes, and watch the clouds 
that float over the head of Orford. When 
the farm upon which they had camped for five 
years finally changed hands, and the shore- 
front was put to other uses, the Shaybacks 
had to move but half a mile to find another 
site, lacking some of the characteristic fea- 
tures of the first one, but possessing compen- 
sating advantages. The beach was not so 
smooth or sandy, but the spring was more 
convenient. We missed the point for our 
hammocks, but a great, towering, forest- 
crowned cliff reared its battlements against 
the northwest wind. And there was a 
grassy, open park, so well protected by a 
thick wall of trees, that no rude storm, 
however violent, could disturb the trustful 
composure of our tents. We were also 
nearer to Georgeville, and nearer to Farmer 
Bigelow's milk fountains, that irrigated our 
oatmeal pudding every morning, and diluted 
our chocolate at night. The Shaybacks 
vote unanimously that never have they had a 
more perfect camp-site than the one thus 
chosen and annually reoccupied. 



84 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

The shores of the lake abound with drift- 
wood, and the groves contain an abundance 
of dried cones and dead Hmbs, which furnish 
fagot - gatherers with a plentiful harvest. 
Only one who has camped upon the Plains, 
without a stick of wood or even a buffalo 
chip to cook a meal, can appreciate the lux- 
ury of camping where wood seems to be as 
abundant as earth or water. In the imme- 
diate vicinity of the camp-ground there are 
no less than twelve varieties of trees. Cedar, 
birch, hemlock, maple, and spruce abound, 
some of which fill an important part in the 
constructive processes of camp life. The 
water of the lake is soft and pure, excellent 
for cooking and washing. The little babbling 
brook which sings in the storm and is quiet in 
the sunshine, and the clear, cold spring within 
a few feet of the kitchen tent, furnish a con- 
stant supply of ice-cold water on draught. 

The habitual camper soon becomes, by 
education, a very fair topographical engineer. 
He knows a good camp-ground when he sees 
it. He must have an eye for a beautiful 



GETTING SETTLED. 85 

situation, but, remembering the inexorable 
round of camp duty, he will not overlook con- 
siderations of practical convenience. It takes 
the pilgrim Shaybacks, after they have landed 
with the heterogeneous baggage, but a short 
time to determine where their tents shall be 
placed. The ladies have the first choice, and 
invariably display a remarkable intelligence 
in making it. The slope of the ground, the 
outlook, convenience to the kitchen and the 
shore, relations to the picturesque and the 
symmetrical, as well as the important ques- 
tion of adequate shelter, — all assist in deter- 
mining the location of the tents. Military 
regularity is not required. The kitchen tent 
is not far from the shore, and the dining 
tent not far from the kitchen. Having once 
had to make a round trip of half a mile for 
every pail of fresh water, when camping on 
the Penobscot, Mr. Shayback recognizes the 
advantages of having the camp-fire near a 
good supply of water. 

These canvas houses are to be the pil- 
grims' shelter for four weeks ; it is worth 



86 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

while, therefore, to put them up properly to 
begin with. It speaks well for the engineer- 
ing operations of the Shaybacks that in the 
course of ten years' camping they have 
never had a tent blown down. There have 
been times when such an exigency has seemed 
very probable. Against a north or south 
wind Camp Merriman was well protected ; but 
when a tornado west by south swept over the 
lake, rolling great billows on the shore, and 
roaring through the trees like a legion of 
demons, the tent-poles bent and swayed ; 
there was an immense flapping of canvas, and 
on two occasions the whole camp sallied forth 
from their tents at four o'clock in the morn- 
ing, to witness the grandeur of the storm, 
and to hang on for a time to the guy-ropes. 
Eternal vigilance is the price of an upright 
tent. Every night before going to bed it is 
important to heed the injunction of Isaiah, to 
" lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy 
stakes." Mr. Shayback never retires for the 
night without a lantern, an axe, and a sledge- 
hammer within easy reach in case of need. 



GETTING SETTLED. 87 

and it not infrequently happens that he is 
obliged to go forth at midnight, in undress 
uniform, to pound some recreant tent-pin or 
tighten a loose fly. In their first camp on 
the Penobscot the ladies who occupied a tent 
adjacent to Mr. Shayback's thought it a 
necessary precaution at night to have a rope 
pass underneath the tents, one end of which 
lay within their reach, the other being at- 
tached to Mr. Shayback's arm. Necessity 
never required the use of this danger signal, 
but attempts were made on more than one oc- 
casion to haul Mr. Shayback from under the 
canvas by means of it. The amount of gig- 
gling heard in the next tent showed that the 
motive was certainly not alarm. 

Each tent is provided with a fly, which 
furnishes a second roof, keeps off rain, and 
renders it cooler. To keep out dampness the 
tents are all floored. Lumber for this pur- 
pose is stored from year to year in the barn 
at the farmhouse, and when a new supply is 
needed it is brought on the Lady from New- 
port, or by wagon from Fitch Bay. The 



88 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

ten tents, the number in their last camp, are 
put up in a remarkably short time. In the 
work of settling there are no spectators. 
Every one takes hold. The first day is 
usually a hard one. The muscles are unused 
to exertion, but they are quickened by an ac- 
tive and unflagging enthusiasm. In the work 
of flooring the tents the mechanical capa- 
bilities of women are beautifully illustrated. 
Mrs. Shayback and Arline established on the 
Penobscot the precedent of cutting, fitting, 
and laying down their own tent-floors. They 
and their associates have ever since kept up 
this practice. Owing to the inequalities of 
the ground it is not always an easy matter to 
lay a level floor, but there are plenty of stones 
to shore them up, and it is only by some 
special grace of feminine resignation that the 
male members are permitted to carry them. 
The facility with which Mrs. Shayback will 
use a saw and hammer, a screw-driver, a 
brace and bit, and other useful tools, is only 
equaled by the ease and promptness with 
which she can get a meal for a dozen hungry 
campers. 



GETTING SETTLED. 89 

Ticks for bedding are filled with straw at 
the farmhouse. Some of the campers use 
cots. Those who wish a luxurious couch 
make a box six feet long and about four feet 
wide ; this is filled with hemlock boughs, and 
the well-filled tick is laid upon it. 

On the second day a large dining-tent 
table is built, either under the shade of the 
trees in the grove, or under a tent-fly. Skids 
are made to draw up the boats ; a spigot is 
put in the kerosene oil barrel ; the hammocks 
are put up ; fish-lines rigged ; and various 
shelves and tables are made around the 
kitchen tent, usually by Calvin or Mrs. Shay- 
back. The camp-ground is then cleaned up. 
The lumber left over is piled neatly up behind 
the tents. Hardly a day passes but a piece 
of it is wanted for some new purpose. The 
ladies take much pride in the decoration and 
arrangement of the interior of their tents. 
They are cozy and comfortable. It would 
not be difficult for the casual observer to tell 
the sex of the occupants from the taste dis- 
played in ornamenting them. 



90 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

It takes two days to get well settled, and 
then Mr. Shayback, and his male associates 
apply themselves with intelligence and vigor 
to the construction of the camp wharf. The 
trees are cut in the forest and sawed to the 
desired length of piles. A calm day is chosen 
for the work in the water. Clad in his bath- 
ing suit, Mr. Shayback with a huge mallet 
drives the piles into the yielding sand. 
Stringers of cedar are placed upon them with 
cross-pieces, and over these boards are nailed. 
The little wharf when made is found to pay 
for the labor in saving boats from wear and 
their occupants from wet feet. 



CHAPTER VII. 

CAMP OCCUPATIONS. 

" But how do you spend your time after 
you are settled ? " is the question which the 
pilgrims are often asked. 

In reply we may say that time is shorter 
at Memphremagog than at any other place. 
Ennui is unheard of. The order of daily 
life among these settlers is very simple. 
Some of them are stirring about half-past 
five in the morning. Occasionally a woman's 
head may be seen at this hour thrust out of 
the tent door, with the flaps drawn tightly 
around her neck, scanning the clouds to see 
what the weather is to be. Mr. Ganzbach 
fills the kerosene stove in the kitchen tent, 
gathers twigs for a camp-fire out of doors, 
puts on water to boil, and chops wood. 
Water must be drawn from the lake for 



92 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

cooking purposes. The milk is brought by 
Lisel from the farmhouse. Mr. Ganzbach 
is the presiding genius of the kerosene bar- 
rel, and, Kke a wise virgin, always fills the 
lanterns in the morning before breakfast. 
Mrs. Shayback is the chief cook. Mrs. Ganz- 
bach assists her. Mrs. Gingwerth, Hosanna, 
and Arline set the table by turns. 

Breakfast reigns about half-past seven, and 
generally consists of rye or oatmeal pudding, 
bread, butter, milk, cream, potatoes, fish, meat, 
or omelet, apple-sauce, oatmeal, crackers, and 
pilot bread, all eaten from bright tin-ware. 

First that which is physical, afterward that 
which is spiritual. Accordingly, we sing a 
hymn after breakfast, read a psalm, and re- 
cite together the Lord's Prayer. It helps us 
to resist the common tendency of camp life 
to revert to primitive barbarism. 

Breakfast over, the dish call is sounded. 
Mrs. Gingwerth presides with grace and ease 
at the dish-washing. The children take turns 
at the wiping. Many hands make light work, 
and the men frequently furnish a pair for 



CAMP OCCUPATIONS. 93 

this purpose. The ladies then make their 
beds and put their tents in order. The gen- 
tlemen defer this duty as long as possible, 
arguing that it is much better to let the beds 
air until late in the afternoon. As a conse- 
quence of holding such theories — the theory 
being founded on the practice, not the prac- 
tice on the theory — they frequently suffer 
the incalculable shame and remorse of find- 
ing at night that the ladies have made up 
their beds for them. I notice that, in spite 
of a troubled conscience, they generally sleep 
better on such nights than when they make 
their beds themselves. The punishment they 
receive is not calculated to cure the evil. 

After breakfast a trip is usually made to 
Georgeville for the mail, and to get any 
necessary addition to the stores, whether it 
be a pound of lead for a sinker, a dozen 
eggs, or the meat which the butcher leaves 
twice a week. The duties of the camp are 
considered to be synonymous with its recrea- 
tions. This may not be always the case, but 
it is pleasing to look at it in that way. It 



94 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

is difficult to say under which classification 
fishing would sometimes come, but this forms 
an important part of camp occupation. 

At noon occurs the daily bathing carnival. 
The water is delightful, cool enough to be 
braciiig without chilling. The children take 
lessons in swimming, the sandy beach with 
its gradual descent furnishing a safe place 
for this purpose. One of the advantages of 
fresh-water camping is that the tide is always 
high, which permits a bath at a regular hour 
each day. 

Dinner follows an hour after bathing. 
The bill of fare reveals a wholesome and 
pleasing variety. But a camp dinner to be 
appreciated must be eaten with a camp appe- 
tite. When this is sharpened to its proper 
edge it cuts a beautiful swath through the 
well-spread table. Camp cookery has been 
reduced to a science. The kerosene stove is 
much prized, and is supplemented by a com- 
plete boiling, baking, and steaming appara- 
tus. The kitchen is as well appointed as one 
could desire, and its administration is as thor- 



CAMP OCCUPATIONS. 95 

ough as could be conceived. This branch of 
camp life the women insist on keeping in 
their own hands, and the men wisely let 
them. A few years ago a former editor of 
the " Christian Union/' who frequently exer- 
cised his literary gift under the shade of a 
tree near the camp-fire, was allowed, as a 
mark of distinguished consideration, to watch 
the potatoes as they boiled at the hour of 
noon. His discovery that very good charcoal 
could be made by letting all the water evapo- 
rate has somewhat blackened his reputation 
as a cook, and his example is held up as an 
awful warning to all who accept such respon- 
sible trusts. The remarkable success of the 
cooking department has inspired such awe 
among the male members of the colony that 
they look upon the camp kitchen and its hu- 
mane divinities with an awe akin to rever- 
ence ; and if they were to fall into idolatry 
while in camp, we fear it would be that gas- 
tric idolatry which Paul repudiated. 

A portion of the afternoon is spent, per- 
haps, in the hammock in the hush of slumber 



96 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

with which the brain acquiesces in a good 
digestion. But it would be a very strange 
day, morning or afternoon, which did not 
find some of the boats in active use on the 
varied waters of the lake. Some of the camp 
members — Mr. Shayback and Mr. Pod are 
examples — spend much more time on water 
than they do on land. The navy consists 
of five boats, — the Garfield, the Hippo- 
grif, the Jeanie Deans, the Lassie, and the 
Achilles, named in honor of its builder, pre- 
sumably a descendant from the Homeric hero, 
who has put off his ancient armor, laid down 
his pictured shield, and is now the best boat- 
builder on the lake. The five boats carry 
the entire camp party when necessary. The 
children are allowed the use of the boats 
within the limits of the bay, the only restric- 
tion being that they shall not go out in them 
unless there is one boat with oars left at 
the beach. A very ordinary day's work at 
the oars for the men is eight or ten miles. 
Mr. Shayback has rowed twenty and Mr. 
Pod twenty-two. That gentleman, rejoicing 



CAMP OCCUPATIONS. 97 

in the possession of a new boat, rowed the 
length of the lake from Magog to Newport 
(thirty miles) within twenty-four hours. In 
six days he has rowed one hundred miles. 
Mr. Shayback finds employment for a large 
portion of his time in fishing for lunge or 
lake trout. In this enterprise he is heroi- 
cally seconded by Mrs. Gingwerth. Any at- 
tack upon the vocation of the fisherman Mr. 
Shayback considers an assault upon the ori- 
gin of Christianity. James and John, Peter 
and Andrew, and even Jesus himself, en- 
gaged in fishing enterprises. If we may ap- 
peal to ecclesiastical tradition there seems no 
more appropriate occupation for a minister 
than this. The fish has played an important 
part in the- symbolism of the Church. But 
Mr. Shayback values it simply because it is 
good to eat. All wanton destruction of ani- 
mals or insects is forbidden by camp usage. 
Chipmunks, squirrels, field-mice, moles, spi- 
ders^ crickets, centipedes, share the hospital- 
ity of the camp without molestation. But a 
good mess of perch or an eight-pound lunge 



98 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

makes a very good substitute for a meat din- 
ner, and lightens the expense bilL The perch 
are caught with angle-worms or surface troll- 
ing ; the lunge by deep trolling, which is de- 
scribed in a subsequent chapter. 

As for the youngsters, it would require a 
volume amply illustrated to give an indication 
of the extent of their daily activities. They 
paddle about in the cove with the boats, 
within boundaries agreed upon in a treaty of 
peace with their guardians. They fish at 
anchor or troll near the shores for perch, or 
build rafts furnished with paddle-wheels. 
They tumble about like dolphins at their 
daily bath, and rend the air with screams and 
laughter. They discover delightful little 
summer houses in the maple grove, or play 
house, or have a grand Indian hunt. They 
ride the horses in the pasture, find great sat- 
isfaction in the kittens lent from the farm- 
house, or watch with rapt attention Dio's 
magic pencil. The day does not seem quite 
finished for the children, if they do not 
gather in a tent by themselves and listen to 



CAMP OCCUPATIONS. 99 

Dio's story of Mr. Pumpkin-seed, which serial 
is not finished until the camp itself is con- 
cluded. 

The daily routine of camp life is varied by 
occasional excursions to new regions. Some- 
times the Shaybacks hire a team and make a 
raid upon the enterprising town of Stanstead, 
never forgetting to visit the old farmhouse 
on the hill that overlooks the plain. A fam- 
ily ticket on the Lady furnishes the whole 
party a trip to Newport or Magog when they 
desire it, and there is the great puffing, asth- 
matic, lumbering Memphremagog, which 
crosses the lake once or twice a day from 
Georgeville, when it is not tempted elsewhere 
by more lucrative business. Directly facing 
the camp, on the opposite shore of the lake, 
is a bold promontory known as Gibraltar. 
Some ten or more years ago a company of 
capitalists from Montreal conceived the idea 
of building a large hotel on this point, in 
hopes that it would attract tourists from 
Montreal. Twenty or thirty small cottages 
were erected in the immediate vicinity of the 



100 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

hotel. The hotel was lathed, when the com- 
pany burst like a bubble. The house and 
grounds were afterwards sold at a great sac- 
rifice. The building with its shining tower 
still adorns the cliff, and once or twice a year 
the pilgrims make a trip to the site of its 
desolation. 

The ascent of Owl's Head is usually made 
by some of the party once a year. That 
broad, magnificent view cannot be easily put 
into the narrow pages of a book. The beau- 
tiful breeze-wrinkled lake lies at the foot of 
the mountain. Twelve miles away, Newport, 
at its head ; eighteen miles to the north, 
Magog, at its foot. Here and there, islands 
break the continuity of the silver sheet, and 
forest-crowned bluffs and peninsulas thrust 
their feet into the waters. On the east side, 
the view is unbroken by mountains save those 
wrapped in a blue haze in the distant circle 
of the horizon. There lies Fitch Bay, look- 
ing like a little lake itseK, the observer hardly 
suspecting the narrow arm which joins it to 
Memphremagog. Far away to the north- 



CAMP OCCUPATIONS. 101 

east, almost hidden in Canadian forests, one 
catches a glimpse of Massawippi. On the 
west side lies Brome Lake, between the Bol- 
ton Hills and Sngar Loaf Pond, serving as a 
basin for Elephantis, whose enormous head 
and ponderous trunk are stretched out before 
us. Away to the north rises bald-headed 
Orford, to which Owl's Head must yield the 
palm of altitude. On the waters, the Lady 
seems like a toy boat, and the skiffs of the 
fishermen like peanut shells. Vast argosies 
of clouds enrich the scenery of the sky. 

A trip to Mount Orford is another temp- 
tation to which the campers less frequently 
yield. 

In August or September, when the Shay- 
backs camp, the sun sets before seven o'clock. 
The boats are drawn up and fastened for the 
night, the lamps lighted in the tents, the 
children are put to bed. An hour is devoted 
to games or reading, and generally by half- 
past eight, seldom later than nine, the Shay- 
backs have retired to that measure of rest 
which tired muscles and a good conscience 
afford. 



102 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

On Sunday, service is regularly held at 
eleven o'clock in the grove, if the weather 
permits. If not, it is held in one of the 
large tents. The camp has never been with- 
out the presence of one clergyman, and gen- 
erally it has two. When these gentlemen 
cannot sufficiently overcome their native 
modesty to read one of their own productions, 
the camp sermon-barrel, in which Phillips 
Brooks, Robertson, Channing, and others have 
been salted down, is drawn upon for the oc- 
casion. A few of the villagers usually grace 
the occasion with their presence. 

No priest could ask a finer temple than 
that which God has built for us. 

" The blue sky is the temple's arch, 
Its transept earth and air ; 
The music of its starry march 
The chorus of a prayer. 

" The green earth sends her incense up 
From many a mountain shrine ; 
From folded leaf and dewy cup 
She pours her sacred wine." 

" Oh, sing unto the Lord a new song ; 






CAMP OCCUPATIONS. 103 

sing unto the Lord, all the earth ! " said the 
Psalmist ; yet these hills and mountains had 
been singing to the Lord ages before the 
Psalmist wrote his exhortation. And they 
are still praising Him. David is gone, and 
the language he spoke no longer lives and 
breathes. But the hills and mountains here 
still sing their hymn of beauty and sublimity ; 
still hold the lake like a cup in the hollow of 
their hand in thankful recognition of Him 
who " sendeth the springs into the valleys 
which run among the hills." Oh, the rest, 
and reverence, and love which seem to lie at 
the heart of Nature in her most peacefid 
moods ! And when the storm comes, as 
sometimes it does, and the lake is torn into 
shreds of vapory fury ; when the lightning 
whirls its fiery sword, and the thunder would 
seem to crack the very hills, — there is no 
profanity in that storm, no irreverence in the 
voice of the wind or the rhythmic beat of the 
waves. It is the same psalm : '' The Lord 
reigneth ; let the earth rejoice." ^' The 
earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof ; 



104 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

the world and they that dwell therein ; for He 
hath founded it upon the seas and estab- 
lished it upon the floods." 

The hills are full of echoes. We have 
tried them with voice and trumpet ; they do 
not fail us. But we know also that they are 
full of echoes for the mind and heart. They 
respond to the reverence, trust, and praise 
which the soul sings to them. 



i( 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE CAMP KITCHEN. 

"But who does the cooking?" is the 
question perpetually asked of the Shaybacks. 
In a general way it may be answered that it 
does itself, but that reply does not satisfy 
feminine curiosity, and unless the prosaic 
details are given the skeptics will never be 
convinced that one of the pleasantest ways to 
spend a vacation is to go into the woods and 
cook for ten or a dozen people for a month. 

Cooperation being the basis on which the 
Shaybacks have conducted all camp opera- 
tions, that feature is naturally carried into the 
culinary department. Servants are regarded 
by them as a necessary evil of city life. The 
presence, therefore, of any person who is in 
any sense considered an inferior has never 
been tolerated in this little republic of 



106 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

campers. An equal division of labor so re- 
duces the amount expected from each indi- 
vidual member that it is really no more than 
is pleasant in the way of exercise. And if 
the merry-makings at dish-washing and wip- 
ing, the delightful tete-a-tetes over whipping 
cream or beating eggs, or even the friendly 
arguments at fish-skinning down on the 
beach, were to be dropped out of the day's 
doings, there is no book, no hammock, which 
might otherwise be enjoyed for an extra hour, 
that could replace them. 

The cooking tent is only 7x7, in the 
centre of which Mrs. Shayback sits on a tin 
cracker-box. From this modest throne she 
can reach any dish in her buffet on one side 
(which, as in early days, is built up of canned 
goods and ends of boards), her box of stores 
on the other, and her cooking range in the 
rear; while the front of the tent is usually 
occupied by Mr. Pod, who sits on the low 
step made by the raised floor, picking over 
raisins and discussing Dante, or by Calvin 
opening a bottle of salad oil, or Mrs. Ganz- 



THE CAMP KITCHEN. 107 

bach beating eggs. If it is morning, and 
chilly, one or two children may be allowed in- 
side to warm their fingers over the glowing 
stoves. The tiny stove of the far-off camping 
time at Fern Point, so small that it " could go 
under a silk hat," is replaced by two three- 
burner kerosene stoves, over which a fabulous 
amount of work may be accomplished without 
any exertion. But for so large a family it is 
often necessary, and always cheerful, to have 
a supplementary out-door fire. The genius 
of Calvin supplied this in the form of an im- 
mense flat stone placed on three stakes driven 
firmly into the ground, on which rests a 
galvanized iron " wind-shield " that came 
originally to be used with the kerosene stove. 
Here dish-water is heated and potatoes are 
boiled, and over the glowing coals such toast 
is made as never a hotel with walls could 
furnish. 

All kitchen as well as table ware is tin, 
the brightest and best, save one stoneware 
dish for stewed fruit. Silver-plated knives, 
forks, and spoons are used on the table, but 



108 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

the kitchen tent boasts a steel knife that has 
been to India and back, and a fork with two 
tines that has served its day and generation 
for a hundred years. 

" Eat from tin ! I could never do that/' is 
a not infrequent exclamation of people who 
are ignorant of the joys of camp life. It 
would be hard to find any one who likes 
dainty linen and delicate china, at home, 
better than our campers, but at the same time 
they think that there is nothing like tin for 
the woods. It is compact, takes little room, 
is easily washed and wiped, never breaks, and 
the fact that one never eats from it at home 
gives the element of complete change, which 
is one of the fascinations of camping. 

"Tablecloths?" the critic continues in 
doubt. Tablecloths ! Bless your heart ! 
No. What should we do with tablecloths 
when we have the sweetest and cleanest of 
pine boards to eat from? It was only this 
morning that the hands of Mrs. Gingwerth, 
unaccustomed to such toil, scoured it with 
sand for the pure fun of it. Cover up the 



THE CAMP KITCHEN. 109 

work of those fair hands with every-day linen 
such as one uses at home — not a bit of it. 
Napkins? Yes, because pine shingles even 
are not pliable enough to wipe one's lips. 

But the long table is just as carefully laid 
for each meal as though Ireland had sent its 
linen and France its china to deck it. And 
the bunch of golden-rod and asters, the ex- 
quisite ferns and water-lilies add a grace that 
leaves nothing to be asked. 

The twelve or fourteen hungry men, wo- 
men, and children that gather about the 
polished board might demur at the last sen- 
timent. They do ask more than beauty, a 
good deal more. Whatever their appetites 
at home, they are gloriously hungry under 
the trees. If it is perch chowder with which 
they are to be served, a full caldron must be 
prepared. If it is breakfast, and rye, oat- 
meal, or graham pudding is the staple, a two- 
gallon kettle must be bubbling in anticipation 
of the delicious cream which the children are 
bringing down from the farmhouse. If it is 
griddle-cakes and honey, a well-worn path is 



110 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

made between the cooking tent and the din- 
ing table before the demand ceases. If it is 
boiled rice and raisins, to be eaten with maple 
syrup, the snowy kernels must fill the largest 
serving-dish, and the raisins be generously 
distributed, or the dreaded (?) " vote of cen- 
sure " will be passed. 

People of a statistical turn of mind want 
to know just how long it takes to do the 
domestic work of the camp. Let us take a 
single day and see. 

Mrs. Shayback, w^ho delights in cooking, 
but whose hands during the other eleven 
months of the year are never free from pen, 
pencil, or editorial scissors, greets the dawn 
with alacrity. Fifteen minutes is ample time 
in which to don the light gymnastic dress 
and prepare for the kitchen tent, where a 
high-necked, long-sleeved, gingham apron is 
ready to cover her completely like a cloak of 
charity. Mr. Shayback has considerately 
filled the water-pails before yielding to the 
temptation that uncaught lunge constantly 
offer, or Calvin is at hand to do it. Or, per- 



THE CAMP KITCHEN. HI 

haps, it is Mr. Ganzbach who thus loyally 
remembers the cook. Ten to one Mrs. Ganz- 
bach, the " fagot-gatherer," has a bright fire 
on the out-door hearth, and some good angel 
has filled the kerosene stoves. Mrs. Shay- 
back lights them, putting water for oatmeal 
and coffee on one and the oven on the other ; 
stirs up a johnny-cake or a pan of gems, and 
then sits down on her tin cracker-box to read 
a novel or write a letter. 

If there are fish to fry, an omelet to make, 
a stew to concoct, or cold meat to slice, she 
does it all without rising from her seat. The 
fish are brought to her ready to drop into the 
sweet Indian meal ; Arline happens past the 
tent in time to beat the eggs; one of the boys 
is waylaid as he goes by and enticed into 
bringing the meat from the brook-refrigerator, 
and thus each one who ventures near her 
cookship is impressed into service. 

In due season the children climb the hill 
for the milk and cream, and bring cold water 
from the spring. Mrs. Gingwerth and Arline 
lay the table, and in an hour from the time 



112 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

Mrs. Shayback sat down to get the morning 
meal — an attitude which to the city cook 
might seem rather lazy — she puts a cornet 
to her lips and calls her family to break its 
fast. The call is obeyed with commendable 
punctuaHty by all save the lone fisherman on 
the lake, whose ears the notes have reached, 
but who loves to illustrate the old adage that 
" none are so deaf as those who won't hear." 

Nearly an hour is devoted to the disposition 
of this early repast. The hymn is sung, in 
which all voices gladly unite, and the singing- 
books are put away. Mrs. Ganzbach and 
Arline repair to the other tents and put them 
in order. Mrs. Gingwerth with her dish-mop, 
soap-saver, and plenty of hot water, makes 
the tin-ware shine, while the children and 
their papas give it the final rub, and the 
merry mingling of laughter and fun shows 
that they make light of the task. Mrs. Shay- 
back, meanwhile,^uietly withdraws and hangs 
herself in her hammock among the trees, or 
ensconces herself in the Crow's Nest over- 
hanging the lake. In little more than an hour 



THE CAMP KITCHEN. 113 

from the time when the campers were sum- 
moned to breakfast the morning's work is 
done and all are scattered to read or row, to 
walk or talk, as each may choose. 

Dinner is served at two o'clock. The bath 
in the lake is taken at noon by all who will. 
On her way to the lake Mrs. Shayback 
usually stops to light the stoves. After a 
refreshing swim and reading the mail, which 
the children have brought from the village, 
she returns to the 7x7 tent. Some of the 
little folks have rubbed the ragged jackets 
from the delightful new potatoes, the water 
for which is boiling. Calvin has opened the 
can of tomatoes and is ready to lend a hand 
at breaking up the macaroni or shelling the 
peas, while he plans with the cook all sorts of 
new conveniences in the way of rustic seats 
and miniature bridges. 

The lamb is put to roast, or the fish to 
bake, — if the fisherman^ has been lucky, — 
and Mrs. Shayback sits down on her cracker- 
box again and resumes her German novel. 
The dessert was prepared while the others were 



IM THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

washing the breakfast dishes : a custard, 
blancmange^ lemon jelly, a picnic pudding, 
or some such trifle. No cakes or pies are 
allowed. Fruit, either fresh or the best brand 
of canned, is always added, and two or three 
times a week nuts and raisins. 

In spite of the novel-reading things seem 
to come out right at the proper time. The 
children think beets were never so tender, 
peas so sweet, and potatoes so mealy, as come 
steaming hot on the pine table at two o'clock. 
Certainly there was never such lunge, and 
Faneuil Market has no better lamb. 

By three o'clock the last nut is picked, 
save a few badly cracked ones that are left 
for the squirrels. By four o'clock the last 
vestige of dish-washing has disappeared. Not 
a scrap of food is left to attract the flies. 
Not an unsightly remnant but has been safely 
disposed of in the " scrap-box," to be rowed 
off and thrown into deep water, or buried in 
a pit. 

Two or three hours remain of the peaceful 
day. At seven the bugle calls the group 



^ 



THE CAMP KITCHEN. 115 

together. A tin cup and a tin saucer are 
placed for each person. A tower of bread 
and butter, ready spread, a basket of oatmeal 
biscuit, a pitcher of milk, a pot of chocolate, 
with whipped cream, and a dish of berries or 
stewed fruit, is the simple " tea," which never 
varies. Ten minutes is sufficient time to pre- 
pare it ; ten minutes more to clear it away. 
At eight the day is done. The children are 
safe in bed, and only a few of the elders are 
dissipated enough to sit up till the late hour 
of nine. 

The domestic work has gone of itself. The 
chief cook certainly can recall nothing but a 
few odd bits of it interspersed with reading, 
writing, and the pleasantest converse with 
congenial friends. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE PIQUANCIES AND PERILS OF A STEAM 
YACHT. 

Any history of our camp life in Memphre- 
magog would be meagre and incomplete which 
did not recognize the pride and glory of our 
navy, the little steamer Nymph. It was the 
second year of the occupancy at Camp Mer- 
riman that the Shaybacks saw a little, grace- 
ful, noisy, industrious steam-launch puffing 
its way towards Magog. 

" How nice it would be to have a little 
steamboat ! " said Mr. Shayback. 

" Yes, it would," said Medfield. 

The ladies were more cautious in expressing 
their opinion, but it was discovered that they 
thought such a boat would be delightful, pro- 
vided the boiler could be kept from going up, 
or the hull could be kept from going down. 



A STEAM YACHT. 117 

Mental pictures of the delights of cruising 
on the clear waters of the lake were rapidly 
painted. The steamer was interviewed, and 
the description which the owner gave of its 
qualities was considered to be far within the 
limits of truth. The bargain was concluded. 
A check and a bill of sale changed hands, and 
the Nymph changed owners. 

Biography has impartially recorded the 
proud elation of youthful Benjamin Franklin 
when he came into possession of a small 
whistle. But the Shaybacks' whistle was a 
large one ; still more it was a s^eam- whistle ; 
yet further, there was a steamboat attached 
to it. The new craft was, to all intents and 
purposes, a high-pressure toy, but a very use- 
ful and enjoyable toy ; and the Shaybacks 
never thought they paid too much for their 
whistle except on one or two occasions. Med- 
field and Mr. Shayback were equal partners 
in this ownership, and for the sake of dignity 
the association formed was called the Inter- 
national Memphremagog Steam Navigation 
Company. The steamer thus acquired was 



118 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

thirty feet long, six feet beam, and drew two 
feet of water. It had a four-horse-power en- 
gine, with an ample boiler three and a half 
feet in diameter, and five feet high ; a capa- 
cious fire-box, capable of burning wood or 
coal ; a siphon for bailing out the boat ; a 
steam-pump, and the usual mechanical fixtures 
of a small yacht, except an injector. The 
hull was stanch and stiff ; there was no cabin, 
but an awning on an iron framework covered 
the boat, and furnished protection against sun 
and rain. There were lockers for tools and 
provisions ; boxes for coal and wood ; a grace- 
ful flag-pole stood erect in the bow. The 
boiler was placed in the centre of the boat and 
the engine just abaft. By means of a rod 
connected with the rudder, the engineer could 
act as pilot when necessary. Rudder chains 
were also extended to the bow, where the pilot 
usually stood. The boat and its machinery 
were built in Canada, and used originally on 
the St. Lawrence, and then transported to 
landlocked Memphremagog. 

The Shaybacks thus came into possession 



A STEAM YACHT. 119 

of a foreign bottom, — a vessel born and 
brought up under the British flag ; a vessel 
whose keel, on Memphremagog at least, had 
never crossed the American line. 

It was a moment of supreme exhilaration 
when the little Nymph steamed into the cove 
and dropped anchor, and Chambeau, the 
obliging engineer, formally delivered her to 
Mr. Shayback, representing the International 
Memphremagog Steam Navigation Company. 
A trial-trip was made without unnecessary de- 
lay, during which her keel was rudely scraped 
on the dangerous ledges which flanked the 
approach to our harbor. A Canadian coast 
survey was informally organized, and the 
channel was distinctly marked by buoys. A 
second trip was made to Magog to land the 
engineer on his native soil, and the steamboat 
was declared ready for use. 

The vanguard of the camp at this time con- 
sisted of Mr. and Mrs. Shayback, and their 
daughter Pusskin, two twin women doctors, 
— who looked so much alike that their iden- 
tity was interchangeable, and who constituted, 



120 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

with Mrs. Sliayback, a trio of physicians, — 
and their nephew, Harry. The rest of the 
campers were to come two days later. 

It was with mingled feelings of pride and 
responsibility that Mr. Shayback proposed to 
the ladies of the vanguard a trip on the 
Nymph. 

"We will make a run to George ville this 
afternoon/' he said, " then steam across the 
lake to Gibraltar, and get back by sundown." 

The ladies graciously accepted the invita- 
tion. The steamer was cleared for action, 
the fire lighted, the bins filled with wood, and 
in about three quarters of an hour a demoniac 
shriek from the whistle announced to the 
responsive hills that the steamer was ready. 
The ladies were brought aboard in the ten- 
der, which was judiciously fastened behind. 

Mr. Shayback forthAvith proceeded to the 
bow to weigh anchor. On most steamers 
plying between the United States and foreign 
ports this office is performed by a windlass or 
a steam-engine. The superior muscle of the 
crew of the Nymph disdained all such me- 
chanical expedients. 



A STEAM YACHT. 121 

The anchor had taken a firm grip in the 
sand and refused to be parted. After con- 
siderable vain tugging the chain was slack- 
ened, a few turns of the propeller sent the 
boat ahead, the anchor was forced to loosen 
its grip, was drawn on board, and the 
Nymph sailed slowly out into the channel. 
Harry stood at the engine, Mr. Shayback at 
the tiller, and her head was pointed toward 
Georgeville. 

"How delightful!" said Mr. Shayback; 
" how nicely she obeys her rudder ! " The 
ladies were not strangers to the mysteries of 
steering, but exhibited more curiosity in re- 
gard to the engine and its operations. They 
also asked various questions about the boiler, 
some of which seemed to be dictated by a 
sense of self-interest. As this was the first 
trip, Mr. Shayback was anxious to overcome 
all unnecessary solicitude. 

" Just think of being able to light a fire 
under a big tea-kettle, and then to move at 
this rate without exertion ! " 

" Yes, it is delightful, only it seems rather 



122 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

hot around the boiler. Do you have to 
keep poking wood into the furnace all the 
time?" 

" It is necessary to keep up an even heat, 
and this wood is rather soft, and burns fast. 
But then it is not so hard to fire up as to 
row, you know. The gauge seems to interest 
you?" 

" Yes, I was looking to see how many 
pounds of steam you have." 

" About seventy now. She runs better at 
seventy. When we get her up to eighty she 
is apt to thump a good deal." 

"How many pounds does the Lady carry?" 

" About twenty-seven." 

" Mercy on us 1 You don't mean that we 
carry more than twice as many pounds as the 
Lady?" 

" Yes, but don't be afraid ; the Lady is 
a low-pressure steamer, and that is where she 
differs from the twin doctors, Mrs. Shayback, 
and the Nymph, who are always at high- 
pressure." 

" What is that glass for ? " 



A STEAM YACHT. 123 

" Oh, that 's the water-gauge ; that tells 
how much water there is in the boiler." 

" Let me see how much there is now. I 
mean to watch this glass every time I go 
out." 

" Oh, there 's enough ! There is a little 
pump here that draws the water from the 
lake into the boiler." 

"What is that water squirting from the 
side of the boat ? " 

'^ Well, you see the boiler is full, so that 
we have turned this valve, and the pump is 
discharging into the lake." 

Just then the rhythmic puffing which had 
been going on in the steam-stack suddenly 
ceased, and a loud noise of escaping steam 
came from under the stern of the boat. 

"Dear me! what is that?" 

" Oh, that is simply the exhaust-steam from 
the engine. Harry has been blowing his fire 
in the smoke-stack, and now he has turned it 
off from the fire and let it discharge into the 
air. The steam as it strikes the water makes 
a somewhat unpleasant noise. The great art 



124 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

of running a steam-yacht/' said Mr. Shay- 
back, learnedly, " is to keep up an even rate 
of speed by preserving an even pressure of 
steam. When your fire is low then turn your 
exhaust into the smoke-stack, which helps the 
draft. Observe also the effect of a little lu- 
brication. This cup on the top of the cylin- 
der is filled with melted tallow. A slight 
turn of this screw lets a spoonful of it into 
the cylinder." 

" My, how she shoots ahead ! " 

" Yes ; the prompt effect of lubrication is 
suggestive for various situations in life." 

" I suppose you will be working it up into 
a sermon some time." 

By this time the Nymph was nearing 
George ville. Describing one of those grace- 
ful curves which the accomplished pilot, like 
the practiced skater, takes pleasure in cutting 
with his boat-keel, the Nymph rounded beau- 
tifully towards the wharf. The whistle was 
sounded with dignity ; her speed was slack- 
ened, and at what seemed an appropriate dis- 
tance the engine was shut off, the determina- 



A STEAM YACHT. 125 

tion of the captain and engineer being to 
treat the Nymph with as much dignity and 
circumspection as if she had been a big frig- 
ate. The pilot had been informed that it 
was not advisable to run the nose of the boat 
violently against the pier, as the vessel had 
not been constructed to serve as a steam-ram, 
and the condition of the wharf at Georgeville 
was so precarious that it needed to be treated 
with all possible consideration. Therefore 
Mr. Shayback deemed it advisable to reverse 
the engine. 

" Back her, Harry, back her ! " 

There was a rush of steam, and one or two 
thumps of the crank. 

" She won't back worth a cent," said 
Harry. 

This was quite evident when the steamer, 
although Mr. Shayback's arms were put forth 
to avert the force of the blow, struck with a 
somewhat rude shock against the wharf. No 
damage was evident, however. There was a 
prevalent opinion on shipboard that the 
steamer could stand it if the wharf could. 



126 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

The vessel was artistically tied by bow- 
lines and clove hitches. A half hour was 
spent in errands at the village, it being im- 
possible to do even the smallest errand in 
George villa in a less space of time. Then 
the lines were cast off, and the helm was put 
about, and the Nymph was headed for Gib- 
raltar. 

It was about a mile across the lake to 
this bold cliff. Sailing under its shadow, we 
escaped the heat of the sun, and the yachts- 
man here is sure of a free keel. 

" We can run very close to the shore," 
said Mr. Shayback; "there is plenty of 
water." 

" Yes," said Harry, " there seems to be a 
plenty of water inside the boat, too ; I think 
we could spare some of it." 

He turned the valve in the steam-pipe and 
let on the siphon and blew a heavy stream 
of water into the lake. 

" How nice that is ! " observed one of the 
twin doctors, who was naturally interested in 
the anatomy of the boat and its venous circu- 



A STEAM YACHT. 127 

lation. " You can blow the water out with- 
out bailing it. But what makes so much 
water there ? " 

^' Oh, you see there is always a little from 
the condensation of the steam ! And then 
the hull is not perfectly tight." 

We sailed along a few minutes more on 
the west side of the lake, enjoying the calm 
water and cool air, and a sense of superior 
leisure, as we looked at the rowers in a small 
boat who were laboriously making their way 
with an " ash breeze." 

Mr. Shayback was in the stern holding the 
tiller. Harry was engaged about the engine, 
the ladies had settled down to the feminine 
occupation of reading and handiwork. 

" Jimminy ! " said Harry, with emphasis. 
Then turning to Mr. Shayback, he remarked 
in a confidential manner, " she 's leaking like 
blazes ! " 

Mr. Shayback put his finger to his mouth 
invoking secrecy, and noticed that the water 
was coming in in a small but very steady 
stream just behind the engine. He cast his 



128 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

eyes across the lake, and at once took his bear- 
ings for Camp Merriman, the tents of which 
formed little specks of white on the beautiful 
green background. 

" Are we going back to camp ?'' said one 
of the ladies. 

" Yes, I think we had better/' said Mr. 
Shay back. " I want to have a little time on 
shore before dark." 

Mr. Shayback might have found an addi- 
tional argument in the condition of the boat, 
if he had wished to urge it. 

Harry turned the steam in the siphon at 
intervals of about five minutes, which sufficed 
to keep the water below the fire-box. But 
the effect of drawing so much steam from the 
engine was to lessen the speed of the boat. 
If there had been a short allowance of fuel 
the condition of the expedition would have 
been somewhat precarious. 

Not that Mr. Shayback was greatly con- 
cerned for the safety of the passengers and 
crew, for, in the smooth water that prevailed, 
all of them, numbering six, might have just 



A STEAM YACHT. 129 

crowded into the Hippogrif, which was per- 
forming the responsible duty of tender. But 
it seemed a Httle ignominious that the 
Nymph, if she was to sink at all, should do 
so on her first regular trip. He also pre- 
ferred to have this event occur in much shal- 
lower water. 

It is hardly necessary to say that the course 
was made as direct as the nature of shoals 
and reefs would permit. And when, finally, 
the Nymph entered the camp-cove, she an- 
chored in a kind of funereal silence, without 
any ostentatious shrieking of the whistle. 

And now, with a great sense of relief at 
having safely landed the ladies, the next 
question that presented itself was, what to do 
with the boat ? 

Mr. Shayback and Harry immediately set 
themselves to discover the source of the leak, 
and then spent a precious hour in uselessly 
trying to stop it. The trouble was found to 
be in the bow. The blow at the Georgeville 
wharf had evidently started the stem-post. 
Oakum and putty were ineffectual. It is of 



130 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

no use to put putty on below the water-line 
unless it has a chance to dry. 

The sun was gradually sinking behind the 
hill in the west, and there was an equal cer- 
tainty that the Nymph would sink also if 
something were not immediately done for her 
relief. It would have been possible to beach 
the boat then and there. But the next day 
she was to make her first trip to the United 
States, and Mr. Shayback was not ready to 
abandon either the boat or the cherished ex- 
pectation. 

" Let us wood up again, Harry," he said, 
" and run her into Georgeville, and see if we 
can get any help." 

A little time was consumed in filling the 
bunkers, and the sun had already gone behind 
the hills when the Nymph, in the melancholy 
twilight, started forth again to seek a physi- 
cian for her wounded nose and the somewhat 
wounded pride of her owner. It was not an 
agreeable thing to leave the three ladies and 
little Pusskin alone in the camp, with the 
darkness fast settling, nor was it agreeable to 



A STEAM YACHT. 131 

start forth at this time in a sinking steamer. 
But necessity is the mother of compulsion. 

In fifteen or twenty minutes Georgeville 
was reached. There stood the dilapidated old 
wharf grimly showing its teeth, and challeng- 
ing us to another encounter. Discretion was 
deemed the better part of valor. We glided 
in peaceably alongside and amicably tied up 
to one of its logs. Leaving Harry to watch 
the fire under the boiler, and yet more vigi- 
lantly the water, which was striving to rise 
and put it out, Mr. Shayback jumped ashore, 
and ran to Bullock's store. 

"Mr. Bullock, the Nymph has sprung a 
leak. Is there a boat-builder in the village ? " 

" The best man for you is Moses Achil- 
les." 

Mr. Shayback had heard of Moses, and 
also of Achilles, but did not know then that 
Memphremagog had united and preserved in 
one personality both of these ancient heroes. 

"But where does this archaic personage 
live ? " 

" Across the lake, — up Knowlton's Bay." 



132 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

The point indicated was about three miles 
away. This was discouraging. Mr. Shay- 
back's hopes somewhat resembled the condi- 
tion of the vessel. 

" Can you furnish me a guide ? " he said. 

Mr. Bullock thought a moment. 

" Well, I can send up for Jim Burbank ; 
he knows where Achilles lives." 

A boy was immediately dispatched to sum- 
mon with haste this genius, already well known 
to the campers. Mr. Burbank was a loquacious, 
off-hand fellow, somewhat dilapidated him- 
self, like the wharf which caused the trouble, 
and unable to sympathize at all with a boat 
which had acquired the vicious habit of tak- 
ing in too much water. But he was a good 
fellow to keep one's spirits up on the trip that 
we were about to undertake, and I trust that 
he has abandoned the habit of keeping up 
his own spirits in any artificial way. 

By the time we were ready to start, a 
crowd of boys, comprising almost the entire 
portion of the youthful inhabitants of George- 
ville, had gathered on the wharf. It does not 



A STEAM YACHT. 133 

take a group of boys long to know what is 
going on. Mr. Shayback was not surprised, 
therefore, to hear one of them say to the 
latest comer, in a confidential voice, " She 's 
sinking, Johnny ! " 

Here was an opportunity to be generous. 

" Boys, would n't you like to take a trip 
across the lake ? " 

There was a dead silence. The irony of 
the invitation was detected. But a respectful 
solemnity befitting so funereal an occasion 
was politely observed. 

^^ Well, cast her off, boys!" 

The line was unfastened, the steamer was 
backed out, turned, and pointed across the 
lake. There was no moon, but the stars were 
shining brightly. Mr. Shayback took the 
helm. Harry served again as engineer, while 
Burbank called out " port " and " starboard " 
from the bow, as occasion required. It was 
nine o'clock when we started on a voyage 
whose issue was wholly uncertain. It was a 
contest between fire and water, — the water 
rising from time to time almost to the grate- 



134 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

bars, while the fire furnished steam to expel it 
from the boat. We soon found that it was 
too wasteful of steam to rely wholly upon the 
siphon, and Burbank was stationed in front 
of the boiler with a pail, to bail out the 
water and keep the draft clear. He selected 
a bright particular star for Mr. Shayback to 
steer by, and diverted the flagging spirits of 
the company by copious sketches of his life 
and adventures. 

The pilot had little to do but to preserve a 
straight course. Under the circumstances 
the vessel exhibited only that decorous rate of 
speed which we might expect of a steamboat 
going to its own funeral. Burbank's tongue 
was the one thing that ran fast on board, and 
this vied with the engine in its rhythmic regu- 
larity. Finally the lake was crossed, and the 
steamer entered the broad mouth of the bay. 
The star of our hope still shone before us, 
but Burbank chose a nearer beacon more defi- 
nitely indicating our destination. 

" Do you see that light across the starboard 
bow ? Well, keep her head towards that." 



A STEAM YACHT. 135 

^^ Does A(i;nilles live there ? " 

" No ; but there is a beautiful cove this side 
of it : we will beach her there, and then go 
after him." 

The fisherman knew every rock and snag 
along the shores of the bay, even in the dark. 
His brain, when not artificially irrigated, was 
as good as a coast survey map. I dare not 
say how many terrible disasters, according to 
his own account, we avoided before we reached 
the little cove, by following his sailing direc- 
tions. 

The Hght came nearer and nearer, and 
grew larger and larger, and finally the time 
came when we put her helm starboard, shut 
down the steam, and, after prospecting in the 
small boat for a good place, ran her up as far 
as we could upon the beach. Props were cut 
and driven into the sand on each side of the 
yacht, to prevent its keeling over in case a 
storm should rise. Mr. Shay back in company 
with Burbank, whose appearance was calcu- 
lated to excite pity, stated the harrowing tale 
of their shipwreck at the house near by. It 



136 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

was found that the home of the Semitic 
Greek was about a mile away. Mr. Shay back 
desired to hire a horse and a buggy. Per- 
haps his appearance and that of his compan- 
ion did not inspire confidence in the farmer, 
who probably saw no way in which a steam 
yacht could be utilized for agricultural pur- 
poses, in case his horse was not returned. He 
made an effort to excuse this inhospitality 
by pleading humanity to his already over- 
worked beasts, which had done a hard day's 
plowing. 

Burbank and Mr. Shayback thereupon set 
out afoot for the temple of the hero. They 
found that the Mosaic element in his charac- 
ter had triumphed over the Grecian. He had 
given up his polytheism, and had just come 
from a Methodist meeting. He was a great 
strapping fellow, six feet plus, of heavy frame 
and heroic features. He received us even 
more graciously than the ancient Achilles re- 
ceived Ulysses and his friends when they 
came to pacify his wrath. He promised to 
repair the boat in the morning, but said he 



\ A STEAM YACHT. 137 

must have assistance, and gave us the names 
of two people who were to be roused on our 
way back. One of them had already long 
retired for the night, and was only awakened 
after a vigorous banging at the door, and then 
appeared in his robe de nuit, in a state of 
sleepy curiosity. He had a job of haying to do 
next day, but promised to be early on hand to 
help with the boat. 

Returning then to the Nymph, we cov- 
ered our engine with canvas, bade her a 
good night's sleep on the beach, undisturbed 
by winds or waves, and, taking the tender, 
pushed off from the shore. The contrast be- 
tween sailing leisurely in the Nymph and 
earning our passage with a pair of heavy oars 
such as the Hippogrif possessed was made 
the subject of remark ; but no little gratitude 
was expressed that the harbor we had found 
for the yacht was not at the bottom of the 
lake. 

A direct course for camp would have short- 
ened our trip by a mile and a half, but it was 
necessary to take both sides of the triangle 



138 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAI.^P. 

instead of the hypothenuse in order to leave 
Burbank at Georgeville. 

The little village was wrapped in slumber 
when we landed. Not a soul was on the old 
wharf, and it seemed to grin at us as satiri- 
cally as ever. Some seven hours had elapsed 
since we ran the nose of the Nymph into 
its timbers, and the wharf had not sunk yet. 
It was the same old wharf through which, on 
account of a rotten plank, Mr. Shay back had 
fallen a year before, and taken an involun- 
tary bath in his Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes. 
Next to the pleasure of seeing that wharf 
sink, nothing would have been so exhilarat- 
ing as to see it go up through the elevating 
influence of a charge of dynamite ; but it did 
not do either. It sat there in the water just 
as unconcernedly as if nothing had happened, 
and mocked us by its grim and silent com- 
placency. 

More than once our thoughts had turned 
to the three little women at camp, and, hav- 
ing landed Burbank, we pointed the prow 
of the Hippogrif towards the familiar cove a 



* A STEAM YACHT. 139 

mile and a half away. After fifteen minutes 
of vigorous pulling we rounded the long 
point, and, looking over our shoulders, saw 
the light of a red lantern on the shore. A 
loud, cheerful war-whoop from Mr. Shayback, 
a vocal idiosyncrasy familiar to the campers, 
showed that the welcome signal had been 
recognized. A faint but reassuring response 
came from the shore. The three short-skirted 
graces of the camp were there, wrapped in 
the halo of kerosene lanterns. They had not 
been eaten up by the squirrels or carried off 
by the night-hawks. The prow of the Hip- 
pogrif ran upon the sand. It was past mid- 
night. 

"Well, the Nymph is safe," said Mr. Shay- 
back, " and you are safe, and we are safe too. 
The joys of salvation are pretty well distrib- 
uted," and he rapidly recited the tale of their 
adventures. " But were n't you afraid to stay 
alone in the woods until midnight ? " he asked 
the ladies. 

" No," was the response. 

" Did you feel anxious about us ? " 



140 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

" Oh — no ! we did n't worry much. We 
thought you could take care of the boat 
and take care of yourselves too. But we are 
glad to see you back." 

Neither Harry nor Mr. Shayback had had 
any supper. They had been too much con- 
cerned for the interior of the Nymph to 
think of their own internal emptiness. His- 
toric truthfulness compels us to say that the 
hot chocolate which Mrs. Shayback had 
thoughtfully prepared was a delightful mid- 
night sequel to the anxious adventures of the 
day, and that the slumber of the tired mari- 
ners was as deep and refreshing as that of 
Ulysses when, after his still more perilous 
misfortunes on his raft, he sank to rest on 
the Phseacian shore. 

The next morning Mr. Shayback and Harry 
rowed over again to Knowlton's Bay. They 
found the faithful Achilles and his men at 
work on the yacht. After taking a swim in 
the bay, and collecting a boat-load of wood 
in their tender, they returned to the Nymph, 
which was repaired and ready for use. 



1 A STEAM YACHT. 141 

" I have patched her up now," said the 
Canadian Greek; "but I advise you to put 
a new bow into her." 

" You would not advise me, then, to run 
her nose into the George ville wharf again ? " 

" No," said the smiling Achilles. 

"How much do I owe you?" said Mr. 
Shay back. 

" Oh, about a dollar and a half ! " 

" Phew ! " said Mr. Shayback, overcome by 
the shocking moderateness of the demand. 

"Well, you see," said Achilles, in an ex- 
planatory tone, " I must pay twenty-five cents 
apiece to these men for drawing her up." 

Mr. Shayback paid the bill without fur* 
ther protest. The fire was lighted, the steam 
was raised, the boat was shoved into deep 
water, and in about three quarters of an hour 
was once more plowing the smooth waters 
of the lake. 

"Well, I think that we got out of that 
pretty well," said Mr. Shayback. 

"Yes," said Harry. 

Reaching the centre of the lake the white 



142 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

specks of the camp-tents could be seen in the 
distance. 

" Let us show them she is afloat again," 
said Harry, and so he took the whistle-cord 
and gave a series of vigorous pulls. First 
a long screech, then a short screech, then 
a variety of staccato shrieks in triple time. 
The whistle seemed fairly intoxicated with 
elation, and screamed at the top of its voice 
until every bird and squirrel on the shores 
must have thought the Nymph had gone 
crazy. 

Quite a different effect had this steam- 
whistle jig at George ville. It was known in 
what condition the boat had left the night 
before. The people at the store were filled 
with alarm. Paul Young, one of the best 
oarsmen on the lake, rusherl down to the 
water for his boat. All unonhscious of the 
alarm they had created, Mr,' Shayback and 
Harry, in high feather at their good fortune, 
were steaming proudly towards Georgeville. 

" Harry, do you see that fellow in a boat 
leaving the wharf ? " 



A STEAM YACHT. 143 

"Yes." 

" What a tremendous stroke he is pull- 
ing!" 

" Jiniminy ! " said Harry ; " I think he is 
comins: towards us. I wonder what 's the 
matter ! " 

The man seemed pulling for dear life ; in 
a few minutes he was alongside. 

" Do you want any help ? " he cried. 

" No, thank you/' said ]Mr. Shayback. 

"Well, I thought you were sinking, you 
made such a tooting with the whistle." 

Mr. Shayback and Harry thanked him, 
however, as warmly as though he had saved 
their lives, and a week or two later they re- 
warded him by buying his boat at a price 
somewhat more than she was worth ; and 
when, some weeks after, at the regatta at 
Magog, Paul Young came in ahead over all 
competitors, including some Montreal oars- 
men, the penitential whistle of the Nymph 
and most of its passengers screamed them- 
selves hoarse with congratulations. 



CHAPTER X. 

NYMPHIC NAVIGATION. 

The Nymph had escaped the watery 
grave which threatened her. She was once 
more seaworthy and ready to make her first 
voyage to the United States. Medfield, the 
other member of the International Mem- 
phremagog Steam Navigation Company, was 
to arrive at Newport on the following morn- 
ing with the rest of the camp party. It was 
fitting that the steamer should be there to 
meet them. Returning to camp after stop- 
ping at Georgeville to assure the inhabitants 
that the Nymph still lived, we took in a 
good supply of fuel and set out in the after- 
noon for Newport. 

The yacht, be it remembered, was a British 
vessel, and had never before entered an Amer- 
ican port. Harry and Mr. Shayback, who 



NYMPH IC NAVIGATION. 145 

constituted the crew on this occasion, looked 
upon this event as one of the most important 
in her history. 

Mr. Shayback had been to Newport many 
times on the Lady and had occasionally as- 
sisted at the wheel. There is a difference, 
however, between the casual passenger and 
the regular pilot. The passenger sees the 
surface of the water ; the pilot sees the river 
bottom beneath. He acquires a knowledge 
of its topography ; he knows just how many 
feet of water there ought to be under his 
keel at any given place. Mr. Shayback found 
that such knowledge was only acquired by 
experience. 

The trip from Georgeville to Owl's Head 
was made in good time. The navigators were 
careful to keep clear of the reef which runs 
out from Molson's Island. They avoided 
also with a conscious pride the shoal water off 
Round Island. In an exuberant outbreak of 
patriotism they ran up the American colors 
on reaching the boundary line. Everything 
was going beautifully ; the engine was in fine 



14:6 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

running order ; the yacht was making good 
time ; they could catch a glimpse of Newport 
in the distance. Within a few miles of this 
village is a beacon, looking very much like a 
gallows, standing in the water a few hundred 
yards from the shore. At night a guiding 
light for the mariner is hung from it. When 
a pilot observes such a beacon far out in the 
water he is certain that it means something. 
It means that he shall pass on one side or the 
other; it does not always tell which. Mr. 
Shayback had often seen this beacon from 
the Lady, but had never comprehended its 
full significance. There were only two 
courses possible to the Nymph ; one was to 
take the right side and the other to take the 
left. Not knowing which was preferable, 
Mr. Shayback concluded to follow the usual 
custom on American country roads. His 
decision to pass to the right would not have 
been at fault provided he had been going in 
the opposite direction. For a few minutes 
the steamer seemed entirely satisfied with the 
decision. But it was not long before Harry's 



NYMPHIC NAVIGATION. 147 

face began to wear an anxious expression. 
He used his oil-can liberally on the engine 
and looked seriously at the fire-box, which was 
as full of wood as it could hold. 

"What is the matter?" said Mr. Shay- 
back. 

" She is stopping," said Harry. 

The puffs in the escape-pipe grew slower 
and more labored. Mr. Shayback looked 
over the bow ; the water was as clear as a 
bell. He could see the bottom beneath. He 
seized a boat-hook and plunged it into the 
water. 

" Stop her, Harry," he shouted, " we are 
on the mud flats ! " 

The injunction was hardly necessary ; for 
the engine had stopped as if from sheer ex- 
haustion. The situation was temporarily 
amusing, but it would rapidly cease to be so 
unless the yacht was got off. Mr. Shayback 
looked behind him. There was the Lady 
of the Lake ; and there also the Mountain 
Maid and yet again the Newport ; all of them 
but a few miles away and steaming towards 



148 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

Newport. Should the stranded Nymph fling 
out a signal of distress and get one of these 
steamers to pull her from her miry bed ? It 
seemed rather humiliating that on the first 
voyage to the United States they should be 
compelled to ask such assistance. Their rep- 
utation as navigators was at stake. They 
did not wish to be seen away up on these 
mud flats with the American flag flying at 
the peak, and that too not far from a beacon 
which was expressly erected by the United 
States government to warn them off. 

Seizing the pole again they drove it into 
the sand and threw all their weight upon it. 
The steamer did not budge. The engine was 
reversed and once more the stranded seamen 
strained at the pole with desperate energy. 
The combined power of steam and muscle 
eventually proved triumphant. 

The bad luck of the mariners in getting 
on the flats — if luck is the proper word to 
use in this case — was only equaled by their 
good luck in getting off. When Mr. Shay- 
back is compelled to travel overland he pre- 



NYMPHIC NAVIGATION. 149 

fers to do it on some other vehicle than a 
steamboat. He tried the overland method 
some years ago on the Yellowstone River. 
The upper Missouri steamer always carries a 
pair of spars, which enable it to walk over a 
bar when it cannot sail over it. Locomotion 
is not rapid under such circumstances, and Mr. 
Shayback recalls one trip on that river, in 
which, owing to the large amount of land 
and the small quantity of water, it took nine 
days and nights to go a hundred miles. The 
water part of this trip was rapidly executed ; 
it was the land part that took the time. The 
whole constitution and make-up of the Nymph, 
however, was such that she was much better 
adapted to travel by water than by any other 
element, and both Harry and Mr. Shayback 
were delighted when they found that there 
was again plenty of water beneath her thirsty 
keel. Backing into the channel, they started 
ahead again and reached Newport without 
further accident. 

The fact that the principal steamers which 
constitute the merchant marine of the lake 



150 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

were coming into port drew a crowd to the 
wharf, among them a numerous and unofficial 
delegation from the hotel. The Lady, the 
Maid, and the Newport were familiar sights 
to the onlookers, but the little Nymph, puffing 
energetically in the wake of the other steam- 
ers, was a new advent. The fact that she 
carried the American flag at her masthead 
tended to secure her a kindly reception from 
the small boys on the wharf, who gladly seized 
and made fast the scientific bow line which 
Mr. Shayback threw out. 

Although we were actually Americans and 
were setting foot upon our native soil, we 
were metaphorically foreigners. At least, we 
were the owners of a foreign vessel, and it 
was necessary to make a formal representa- 
tion at the custom-house, a proceeding which 
invested the Nymph and her owners with new 
dignity. 

The foresight of the builders of this little 
craft had not provided it with a state-room, 
but tying her up for the night in a quiet, 
sheltered place, drawing down the awnings 



NYMPHIC NAVIGATION. 151 

and extemporizing some bunkers, Harry and 
Mr. Shayback had a good night's rest and in 
the morning a prosperous return voyage to 
camp with the rest of the party. 

During the course of the four weeks which 
constituted the camp season, the Nymph in 
the first year of her career with the Shay- 
backs ran six hundred and fifty miles. In 
that time she scraped her keel, butted her 
nose on the wharf, ran aground on the flats, 
blew out her whistle-pipe from the top of her 
boiler, " picked up " several buoys and dex- 
terously twisted their lines around the pro- 
peller, and encountered several extremely 
severe gales; but the little boat lived through 
all her adversities and sustained only super- 
ficial injuries. 

The most serious event in her history was 
due to a second interference with that same 
dilapidated Georgeville wharf. The party 
on board consisted of Medfield, with his wife 
and two children ; a former editor of the 
" Christian Union," and Mr. and Mrs. Shay- 
back. Just as we were moving away from 



152 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

the wharf a projecting log caught in the 
awning frame and forced it violently against 
the whistle-pipe, which cracked close to the 
boiler. Medfield stopped the engine imme- 
diately. 

" It 's all up/' he said to Mr. Shayback, in 
a whisper. 

The yacht was hauled back to the wharf, 
and the ladies and children landed. A jet 
of steam issued from the cracked joint. 

" Perhaps the joint is only loosened," said 
Mr. Shayback. "Let me bear against the 
pipe with this stick while you try it with the 
Stillson wrench." 

Medfield seized the wrench and gave the 
pipe a powerful twist. It broke short off at 
the top of the boiler, and the steam, at a pres- 
sure of eighty pounds, burst forth with a 
frightful and indescribable roar. Both Med- 
field and Mr. Shayback had a narrow escape 
from being scalded. Medfield, with his usual 
presence of mind, dropped to the bottom of 
the boat and drew the fire from under the 
boiler. The noise of the escaping steam 



NYMPHIC NA VI G A TION. 153 

could have been heard miles away. It threw 
Georgeville into a state of temporary conster- 
nation. A few weeks before the inhabitants 
thought the Nymph had gone down ; now it 
was reported that she had gone up. But 
when the deafenino^ noise had subsided and 
the clouds of steam had passed away, she was 
all there, and the broken whistle-pipe was the 
only evidence of damage. 

Yet, under the circumstances this was 
serious enough. Medfield and his family had 
embarked on the Nymph, expecting to take 
the night train from Newport to Boston, but 
here was an accident which might lay her up 
for two or three days until a skilled mechanic 
could come to our relief, the small resources 
of Georgeville being inadequate for such an 
emergency. It was then, however, that the 
superb mechanical genius of Medfield came 
into play. He inspected the hole in the 
boiler with a critical eye. The few tools that 
we carried consisted mainly of a hammer, 
cold chisel, files, and the invaluable Stillson 
wrench. With the hammer and chisel he 



154 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

succeeded in dexterously cutting out the piece 
of broken pipe in the boiler head without 
injuring the thread into which it had been 
screwed. We had no extra pipe with us. 
The broken whistle-pipe was composed of two 
or three joints, to one of which the gauge 
was attached. Medfield's quick eye saw how 
these lengths might be taken apart and 
recombined. It was then that the Stillson 
wrench proved a friend indeed, but it needed 
Medfield's magnificent muscle to invest it 
with authority. The old joints were unfas- 
tened ; a new end was screwed into the boiler, 
and by ingenious combinations of different 
lengths the whistle-pipe was reinstated and 
the gauge restored to its responsible position. 
It took but half an hour to do it. It took 
another half hour to get up steam again, and 
thus within an hour from the time of the 
accident which threatened to detain the 
Nymph two or three days at Georgeville, she 
had cast off her lines and, after a fresh and 
exultant scream with her whistle, proudly 
steamed toward Newport. 



NYMPHIC NAVIGATION. 155 

No one but the owner of a steam yacht, 
who enjoys the privilege of running her him- 
self and helping her out of all her distresses, 
can appreciate the exhilaration which such 
ownership imparts. The exigencies that arise 
give but a new zest to the enjoyment. The 
man who owns a yacht so large that he must 
have a trained engineer and a trained captain 
to manage it is little more than a passenger 
on his own craft. 

The possession of this steam yacht had an 
important influence upon feminine education. 
For the whole of one season the duties of 
engineer devolved upon Mr. Shayback and 
the responsible position of pilot fell to Mrs. 
Shayback. The engineer recalls with pecul- 
iar satisfaction various scenes in which fem- 
inine skill in navigation was beautifully dis- 
played. The Nymph being a private boat 
had full liberty to run upon the rocks, break 
her nose on the wharf, blow up, or sink, as 
her caprice might determine. Neither the 
captain nor the engineer was required to have 
a government license for such indulgences. 



156 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

The question which awhile ago agitated the 
United States, as to whether a woman who is 
perfectly able to perform the duties of pilot 
on the Mississippi River should be allowed a 
commission after her husband's death, did 
not come up at Memphremagog. Mrs. Shay- 
back, without asking leave of President or 
Queen, simply took her place at the wheel 
and pointed the Nymph in the way she should 
go. In a short time she could make a land- 
ing with as much skill as any captain on the 
lake. She became familiar with such of the 
rocks, ledges, and shoals as sustained a threat- 
ening relation to the keel of the boat. For 
an entire week at the close of the camping- 
season, Mr. Shayback was the only man left 
in the depleted company. He was, as the 
Germans say, a "Hahn im Korbe." Mrs. 
Shayback, Pusskin, and two lady campers 
constituted his social, and perhaps it may as 
well be confessed, his governmental environ- 
ment. Notwithstanding this preponderance 
of female voters, neither the tension of camp 
duties, nor the heroic character of camp rec- 



NYMPHIC NAVIGATION. 157 

reations was at all relaxed. That demoral- 
ization which is sometimes supposed to come 
with woman suffrage was not experienced. 
Everything went on with equanimity and 
good order both on land and at sea. The 
navy department was administered with nau- 
tical skill ; the treasury department with 
financial ability ; and the interior department 
with the genius which has always distin- 
guished its operations. 

A pleasant way of using the Nymph under 
this administration was to start off in the 
morning for an excursion to some distant 
point and return at nightfall. A round trip 
of twenty-five miles made to Fitch Bay in 
this way comes vividly to mind. The beau- 
tiful amber day, the calm, clear water, — as 
peaceful as that which is mirrored in the 
twenty-third Psalm ; the cruise among the 
islands ; the voyage up the bay guarded with 
forests and walled with hills ; the heron 
which spread his broad wings and hovered 
over the vessel ; the refreshing bath ; the 
delightful meal on a bold rock beyond the 



158 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

Narrows, all come into focus again with that 
unfading color which is not easily washed out 
of our recollection of a good time. But there 
is one experience of the day which always 
comes into the foreground ; it was the pas- 
sage over the bar. The Shaybacks had been 
warned of its existence, and that on account 
of the low water it might be difficult to cross. 
Arriving at the mouth of the bay the ardor 
of the busy little engine was cautiously mod- 
erated, and the pilot kept a sharp lookout. 
It was almost impossible, however, to deter- 
mine the channel simply by the eye, and in 
a short time the Nymph had run lightly 
aground. The ladies had no idea, however, 
of staying there. Mr. Shayback's duties as 
engineer required his presence at the engine. 
Nor was there any necessity for him to aban- 
don his post, for Mrs. Shayback, with her 
keen zest for exploration, took the tender 
and went ahead to search for the channel. 
Arline, taking the boat-hook, stood in the 
bow of the steamer and made soundings. 
The tiller was temporarily intrusted to Zer- 



NYMPHIC NAVIGATION. 159 

lina, who was without previous experience in 
managing it. Cooperative navigation was 
the only kind here that promised any success. 
Mrs. Shayback, with the pilot's instinct for 
finding deep water, soon discovered the chan- 
nel. But at best the depth of water on the 
bar was small. When Mrs. Shayback waved 
her invitation to proceed, Arline, from the 
bow of the Nymph, plunged her pole into the 
sand and reported the depth, while Mr. Shay- 
back, with his hand on the valve, stopped 
and started as occasion required, and shouted 
" starboard " and " port " to Zerlina at the 
helm. The meaning of these terms was rap- 
idly acquired; but being a young lady of 
positive character she made no half-way work 
with the tiller. Her sense of freedom in con- 
trolling it was equal to her sense of respon- 
sibility. If " port " was called, she gave all 
the port the tiller would permit. To correct 
the threatening deviation of the bow, it was 
immediately necessary to shout " starboard," 
when the tiller was swung to the other ex- 
treme. This decision of character on the 



160 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

part of Zerlina gave a certain indecision to 
the course of the boat ; but Arline's pole was 
as good as another rudder at the bow. By 
the combined skill of these ladies and the 
facility with which they worked in opposition 
to each other, the Nymph was finally zig- 
zagged over the bar. 

Memphremagog shares the inconstancy of 
all mountain-walled lakes. It is a fine play- 
ground for the winds. One can never tell 
when they may skip down from the mountains 
and break that glass mirror into a million 
ripples, or roll it into foam-crested billows. 
A little too sportive we think these winds for 
a sail-boat, but the Nymph carried no sail, 
and was so stanch that the wildest storm was 
not feared during the dayhght so long as her 
machinery was in order. But occasionally the 
party was belated, and camp was not made 
until after darkness had settled over the lake. 
The rocks and ledges around our little cove 
were so dangerous that one needed to be per- 
fectly familiar with the entrance to pilot the 
Nymph safely to her anchorage. 



NYMPHIC NAVIGATION. 161 

During the last year in which the yacht 
remainecl in the possession of the Shaybacks, 
it was made a rule to return to camp by sun- 
down. This rule, of course, was broken on 
the very first trip. Two ladies from Leomin- 
ster, Massachusetts, had made one of their ten 
annual summer drives throug-h New Enp'land 
in a buggy. This time they had crossed the 
Canada line and surprised the Shaybacks in 
their camp. Ladies who could take together 
a round trip of five hundred miles in a buggy 
did not have any fear about trusting their 
safety to a steam yacht. An invitation to 
take a trip to Magog and back, twenty miles 
in all, was promptly accepted ; and when the 
time for wooding-up came, the ladies carried 
their full share of sticks and insisted on try- 
ing the buck and saw. A new ash row-boat 
had been ordered for our navy. She was 
built at Lawrenceville, Canada, and was to 
come by rail to Magog. It was poetically as- 
sumed by Mr. Shayback that these enterpris- 
ing ladies had come two hundred and fifty 
miles in a buggy to witness the launching. 



162 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

Delay was experienced in starting, and 
again at Magog. A visit to the village con- 
sumed additional time. When finally the 
Garfield was triumphantly launched and 
hitched to the Nymph it was evident that if 
the engine did its utmost we could not reach 
camp before dark. Mrs. Shayback took the 
helm as usual, which is a warrant that no S's 
were written on the lake with the rudder ; 
and Mr. Shayback did all that oil and wood 
permitted to keep up the speed of the engine. 
It was a race with the sunset. But we were 
too heavily handicapped. If we lost no time 
it was clearly impossible to gain any. Neither 
Joshua nor Hezekiah was available to lengthen 
the day for our benefit. Before we had 
reached Lord's Island the sun was far gone 
behind the hills. The day had been mate- 
rially shortened by the heavy clouds which 
had been all the time gathering overhead, and 
growing blacker and blacker. There were 
fire and water, thunder and wind, in those 
sullen, inky masses. With no moon, and not 
a ray of starlight, it was not safe to run at 



NYMPHIC NAVIGATION. 163 

full speed. The darkness became so thick 
that Mr. Shayback fancied it impeded the 
progress of the boat. The camp had been 
left entirely uninhabited. As a matter of 
precaution a red lantern, the usual night sig- 
nal, had been lighted and hung in its place 
on the point before we set out in the after- 
noon. Had the lantern been burning on the 
shore either Mrs. Shayback or her husband 
could have taken the boat into the harbor as 
easily as Captain Fogg put the Lady in at 
Newport. But the lamp chimney had par- 
taken of the general blackness, and the wick, 
as it was afterwards found, had smoked itself 
out. All that we could do was to feel our 
way. The black mass of cedars and hem- 
locks rose like a dark wall on the east side of 
the lake. But the five white birches on the 
camp point could not be discerned. There 
was only one way in which we could approxi- 
mately determine the location of our camp, 
and that was by the outUne of the hill-tops, 
the curves of which could still be distinguished 
through the clouds above. The Nymph, 



164 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

by this time, we judged, was about a mile 
south of Lord's Island. But the rudder was 
perplexed and the engine cautious. Not a 
single glimmer on the east shore ; only the 
sky line rose and fell with the curving and 
swelling of the hills. On the west shore, a 
mile and a half across the lake, opposite the 
camp, is the ruin of a sawmill. Two or three 
French families still live in the adjacent cot- 
tages, and make a precarious living by fishing 
and small farming. Once get the bearings 
of the sawmill and the Shaybacks knew well 
the diagonal which would bring them to the 
camp cove. The official lighthouses with 
which the lake is provided were too far away 
to be of any use in finding the harbor. A 
single gleam from a cottage by the sawmill 
would be worth all the lighthouses on the 
lake. Our pilot strained her sky-blue eyes — 
the only sky-blue there was in that darkness 
— towards the west shore where the dim line 
of Black Rock rose like a battlement. To 
the left of that cliff must be the sawmill cove. 
If we were to get any light it must come from 
that bay. 



NYMPHIC NAVIGATION. 165 

A swarm of lurid sparks rose from the 
smoke-stack, and ghostlike puffs of steam 
rhythmically shot into the air from the ex- 
haust pipe, as the yacht slowly cut the dark- 
ness with her prow. It was a weird and awful 
night, and under its influence the voyage lost 
some of its character as a pleasure trip. Yet 
there was a strange fascination in the uncer- 
tainty and danger of the situation. The very 
darkness, thick with foreboding, demanded a 
new keenness in the eye, a new steadiness in 
the hand. Everything depended, in the first 
place, on the fidelity of the engine, and Mr. 
Shayback, by the aid of a lantern, watched 
each coupling, bolt, and screw, with exacting 
vigilance. He knew that the rudder was in 
good hands, and that no keener eye could 
search the mystery of the darkness. 

It was a little pencil of light that tunneled 
its way through the gloom and kindled the 
pilot's eye. 

" The sawmill ! The sawmiU ! " - she 
shouted. 

All eyes were strained into the darkness. 



166 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

A single glimmer of light shone from the 
west shore. Steadily it burned, as if it were 
a star that had set in the woods. 

Ah, my good Frenchman ! we thank you 
for your beacon. You lighted your lamp at 
the evening meal. You are comfortably smok- 
ing your pipe, or chatting with the children, or 
reading a paper a week old. You do not know 
how far that little candle — or was it a kero- 
sene lamp ? — casts its beams, and how wel- 
come it is to the night-bound, storm-threatened 
mariners. You did not know when you lighted 
the wick that you would light a pair of blue 
eyes, and perhaps some faintly blue hearts 
upon the lake. I leave it to the casuists to 
determine whether the Frenchman is entitled 
to any credit for the benefit of an action 
whose indirect results he did not contemplate, 
and for an influence which he is still uncon- 
scious he exerted. But we easily forgive, and 
even commend, that form of selfishness which, 
while it serves the doer's pleasure, brings 
guidance and comfort to others. Far better 
than the sermon which Mr. Shayback preached 



NYMPHIC NAVIGATION. 167 

on the next day was that which gleamed 
from the Frenchman's lamp. " Let your 
light so shine before men that they may see 
your good works." 

The moment Mrs. Shayback saw that guid- 
ing light she put the helm to starboard and 
brought the stern within its range. If we 
could not steer by a light ahead we could 
steer by one astern. Slowly we steamed 
across the lake on the pathway of that gleam. 

As the dark outline of the forests on the 
east shore became more distinct the engine 
was cautiously shut down at a safe distance. 
Mr. Shayback could not leave his engine, nor 
his wife the wheel. The tender was un- 
hitched, and Ignatio, the only other gentle- 
man in the party of seven, who was making 
his first voyage that day on the Nymph, 
took a lantern and went ashore. We had no 
time to lose. The wind was rising in the 
forest. Thrice welcome was his voice when 
it reached us with a reassuring cry. He had 
landed, found the camp, and in a few minutes 
the signal lantern was shining on the point. 



168 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

Well done, Mrs. Shayback, you have brought 
her straight to the mouth of the cove. 

Yet we are right over some of the worst 
ledges in the lake. Unless our pilot knows 
just what that light means, we are worse off 
than ever. Agnosticism will not do here. 
But Mrs. Shayback knows that Bedroom 
Point lies to the left, with its long rocky 
tongue ; that Bastard Rock is standing two 
inches out of water to the right, though she 
cannot see the flag on the buoy. Once more 
the propeller lashes the water. Port goes the 
helm. " Steady." " Hard a starboard." 
" Port again." " Shut her down." Mr. 
Shayback skips forward to the bow. There 
is a loud splash in the water, a rattle of chain. 
The anchor is over. We are safe in our cove. 

Hardly had we got the ladies ashore in the 
tender than one of the most terrific storms of 
that season broke on the lake with majestic 
violence. But the campers were safe within 
their tents. More than once during the night 
Mr. Shayback was down on the beach watch- 
ing the tussle between the Nymph and the 



NYMPHIC NA VIGA TION. 169 

storm, which continued until seven or eight 
o'clock the next morning ; but the anchor 
had a firm grip in the sand, and some black- 
smith had put his conscience into the chain. 

There is one element of mystery in the 
sequel to that trip which is tenderly submit- 
ted to our readers. Our Leominster ladies 
on account of the storm were obliged to 
spend the night in camp instead of returning 
to the hotel in George ville as they had ex- 
pected to do. The same cause which pre- 
vented them from going that night to George- 
ville prevented us from getting any supplies 
from the village for our Sunday dinner. 
There was no meat for our guests. There 
was a beautiful aquarium in front of our 
camp well stocked with voracious perch -, but 
it was Sunday. 

Mr. Shayback was permitted to retire to 
his study in the woods to prepare himself for 
the church service at eleven o'clock. As he 
left the beach he noticed that a row-boat 
with some ladies in it left the shore. Two 
hours later the horn was sounded for the ser- 



170 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

vice in the grove chapel, and all the campers 
being present Mr. Shayback preached his ser- 
mon. There was nothing remarkable in this ; 
but when the dinner call was sounded later 
in the day a fine mess of fish appeared upon 
the table, and Mr. Shayback offered thanks, 
and ate, asking no questions for conscience' 
sake. 

I leave it to the society for Psychical Re- 
search to determine how the fish got there. 
Mr. Shayback's theory is that they fell from 
heaven in the storm of the previous night, 
but that angel hands were still needed to 
hook them out of the waters beneath. 



CHAPTER XI. 

SPOON AND SINKER. THE SCIENCE OF IT. 

To the Shaybacks the charms of Lake 
Memphremagog have proved to be a pro- 
gressive revelation. Each year has brought 
its own zest. It is without any corroding 
sense of regret that Mr. Shayback confesses 
that for the first four years of his stay at 
Memphremagog he was a stranger to the 
charms of the spoon and sinker. The two 
years spent with the steam yacht demand no 
reparation from any other enjoyment. The 
other years had their own novelties and ex- 
citements. Mr. Shayback's ignorance in re- 
gard to the spoon and sinker was shared at 
that time by the whole community. The 
spoon was well known to the fishermen, the 
sinker was no stranger, but the combination 
that I am about to describe had not then 
been introduced. 



172 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

Of the various fish which inhabit the 
waters of Memphremagog pickerel, shad- 
waiters, pout, bass, lunge, and perch, the 
last two most engage attention during the 
camping season. Pickerel were formerly very 
abundant ; and are still caught in diminished 
numbers in Fitch Bay and elsewhere by those 
who know how. Bass have only recently 
been put into the lake, but are gaining in 
numbers every year. The perch were intro- 
duced about a dozen years ago, and have 
multiplied with remarkable rapidity. The 
native dwellers on the lake are inclined to re- 
gard the stocking of its waters with perch as 
an unmixed evil. It is a popular impression 
that the perch eat the young of the lunge, 
and thus contribute to decimate the nobler 
fish. The " lunge," as it is popularly called, 
is a true species of lake trout {Salmo con- 
finis). It is found in four marked varieties, 
known to the fishermen as the black, the sil- 
ver, the gray, and the copper lunge. In 
Memphremagog they range in weight from 
one to twenty pounds, though there is a well- 



SPOON AND SINKER, 173 

attested instance of a forty pounder among 
the salted-down traditions of the lake. The 
name " lunge " is probably a corruption of 
masqu'allonge (often spelled muskallonge and 
muscalongCj and converted by fishermen into 
maskinonge), founded possibly on a supposed 
relationship of this fish with the lake trout. 
But the families are entirely different. The 
muscalonge is not found in Memphremagog. 
The name " lunge/' however, has become so 
securely fastened to the Memphremagog lake 
trout that it is of no use to try to remove it. 
We humbly bow to the necessity, and respect- 
ing the custom of the lake will use the com- 
mon term instead of the scientific one. 

For perch fishing Mr. Shayback confesses 
that he has no enthusiasm. The operation 
of dismembering a grasshopper or transfixing 
a wriggling worm is not poetic or agreeable. 
Perch seldom tempt the rod of the natives ; 
but when one of the editors of a prominent 
Boston daily and his wife go to Memphrema- 
gog for a two weeks' vacation the perch al- 
ways hear of their arrival. A thousand fish 



174 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

caught in two weeks with the assistance of 
another companion is a well verified achieve- 
ment. Skinned and dressed the perch makes 
a good pan-fish; boiled and boned it fur- 
nishes a delightful chowder. The exigencies 
of the camp larder sometimes require a draft 
of these fish. In such cases the children are 
only too glad to organize an expedition for 
their capture. They simply need to row un- 
der the shadow of the great cliff to find one 
of the best fishing-places on the lake. 

For Mr. Shayback, however, the excite- 
ment of catching them is too transient. No 
sooner is a sudden twinge on the line felt 
than the voracious perch is whipped into the 
boat. The hook is rebaited and dropped as 
a new lure. There is no running of the line, 
no conflict of the emotions, no vibrations 
between hope and doubt, culminating in sad 
disappointment or triumphant exultation. It 
is merely a series of staccato beats on nerve 
sensation. 

As for the lunge, they were acknowledged 
to be scarce in the month of August, and Mr. 



SPOON AND SINKER. 175 

Shayback for a long time regarded them as 
the prize only of the professional fisherman. 
The method they adopted had few attractions 
for him. To catch your lunge it was neces- 
sary first to catch your minnows. At various 
places on the lake where experience dictated 
the fishermen had fixed buoys by tying bark 
rope to logs or boards, and anchoring them 
with heavy stones. Fastening his boat to 
one of these buoys the fisherman placed a 
minnow on his hook and dropped about 
eighty feet of line. There were days in the 
early history of lunge fishing when this 
method was promptly rewarded. The fish 
were plentiful and they bit well. But such 
mordant experiences when we came to Mem- 
phremagog were only a matter of tradition. 
It was not uncommon for the fisherman to sit 
all day in his boat without getting a bite. 
Visions still pass before my eyes of old Colo- 
nel Burbank, with his invariable nightcap on, 
sitting in the stern of his anchored skiff, hold- 
ing his fine with an infinite patience from 
morn till sundown. 



176 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

In the summer of 1882 a more tempting 
contrast was furnished to this j)icture. It 
was noticed that a certain fisherman seemed 
to be blessed with unusual success. Day after 
day he returned to Georgeville with from ten 
to forty pounds of the coveted fish. Every 
morning as the Lady landed at the wharf he 
met her with a string of lunge which excited 
the envy of all beholders. Some of them 
weighed from fifteen to twenty pounds. The 
old fishermen, on the other hand, returned 
with empty boats. The phenomenon was a 
mystery to them. The use of the seine at that 
season of the year is prohibited ; but one of 
the disappointed fishermen expressed to Mr. 
Shayback his confident suspicion that Frank 
Merriman used a " leetle net." The speaker 
meant to have it known that he at least could 
not be caught napping. There was a double 
charge of sarcasm packed into the word " lee- 
tle." It assumed that anybody could do as 
well as Frank if he used such disreputable 
means. Meanwhile Merriman leisurely puffed 
his pipe, sold his fish at twenty cents a pound, 



SPOON AND SINKER. 177 

and kept his own counsel. It was not an un- 
common thing for the successful fisherman to 
run into the cove near Bedroom Point at 
noon, draw his boat into the shade, eat his 
lunch, get a drink from the spring, and take 
a nap. 

^^ Pretty, ain't they?" he said one day, as 
he held up a pair of ten-pounders which 
would bring four dollars and forty cents the 
next morning at the Lady. Mr. Shayback 
was forced to confess that such fish were 
worth catching. 

Mr. Merriman took out a match and lighted 
his pipe. His voice assumed a confidential 
tone ; his face was beaming with generos- 
ity. 

" Mr. Shayback," he said, " you can catch 
these fish just as well as I can, and if you 
have a few minutes to spare I will show you 
how." 

Mr. Shayback was self-distrustful, but cu- 
rious to see the new wrinkle. The fisher- 
man sat down on a stone and his disciple sat 
down beside him with expectant docility. He 



178 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

took from his boat a long reel of line with a 
shiny spoon and a heavy egg-shaped weight 
dangling at the end. 

" There is my rig." 

" Is that all ? " asked Mr. Shayback. 

" That is all." 

Later experience taught Mr. Shayback that 
it was one thing to have a rig, and another 
thing to know how to use it. Opening a 
little box filled with swivels, rings, hooks, 
pack-thread, needles, and beeswax, Mr. Mer- 
riman initiated his pupil into the method of 
constructing a rig for himself. With still 
greater generosity he informed Mr. Shayback 
that he was going to Waterloo for a few days 
and tendered him the use of his own line. 
When Mr. Shayback remembers the destruc- 
tive work which the uninitiated often make 
with such appliances, the generosity of Mr. 
Merriman looms up into the grandeur of 
Owl's Head. Five minutes after Mr. Shay- 
back cast that borrowed line he had hooked 
it on one of the worst ledges in the lake. It 
was only by patience and good fortune that 



SPOON AND SINKER. 179 

he got it off again, and fifteen minutes after- 
wards he landed a seven-pound lunge in his 
boat. He did not catch another for a week, 
but that seven-pounder was enough to fire 
his enthusiasm with an inextinguishable 
ardor. He had caught a fish ; but he had 
also become himself firmly hooked to this 
new and alluring pastime. 

A German from Montreal is credited with 
first introducing this innovation. Mr. Mer- 
riman, who is an ingenious mechanic, then 
took it up and substantially improved the rig. 
Gradually the old fishermen were obliged to 
adopt the improved method. 

"I have fished in this lake for forty years," 
said old Diman, as he reluctantly surrendered 
the buoy for the trolling fine, " and it is hard 
to teach an old dog new tricks." 

Surface trolling has of course been prac- 
ticed upon the lake for many years, not only 
for pickerel but for lunge. It was confined, 
however, to the spring of the year or to early 
summer, when the fish are near the surface. 
Through July and August, when they seek 



180 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

deeper water, the trolling line was put by. 
Now that we know what can be accomplished 
by it, it seems singular that no one ever 
adopted before the simple device of adding a 
sinker to the spoon and sending down the 
shining allurement to wreak its deception at 
the bottom. This simple device, however, 
involves a wholly new method of fishing. It 
requires not merely the addition of a weight, 
but the addition of that experience which 
develops skill and knowledge. The condi- 
tions for successful trolling on the surface 
and for successful trolling on the bottom are 
essentially different. 

Mr. Shayback found himself at the begin- 
ning of an epoch in the history of fishing on 
the lake. He has the honor of being the 
first amateur to adopt the new method, and 
has succeeded in disproving the assertion 
which often went uncontradicted, that " no 
amateur can catch a lunge." In the last 
three years he has acquired not a little expe- 
rience and has profited by the experience of 
others. Much of it, however, is incommuni- 



SPOON AND SINKER. 181 

cable on paper. It is not precept upon pre- 
cept, but line upon line that is needed. 

By all means let the line be a good one. 
Mr. Shay back prefers a hard-braided number 
2 line. It is not so liable to snarl ; it is not 
elastic. Achilles declares that with such a 
line he could feel a bite three miles off. The 
Homeric heroes are given to hyperbole. If 
Achilles meant a ledge bite there is no doubt 
that he spoke the exact truth. No matter 
how long the line, if the fisher gets it hooked 
on a ledge at one end he will eventually feel 
it at the other. The line should be about 
three hundred feet in length. It is a good 
plan to have it divided into sections of one 
hundred and fifty feet each. A loop is made 
at each end of the severed parts, and one of 
them is made long enough for the reel con- 
taining the other half of the line to be passed 
through it. In this way the additional length 
can be securely united in a moment when the 
depth of the water requires it. 

The spoon is one of the most important 
features in the outfit. Upon its perfect 



182 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

adaptation to its work the success of the 
whole venture may depend. The Memphre- 
magog fishermen have an aversion to patent 
spoons for deep trolling. Mr. Shayback has 
given them only a limited trial, but without 
encouraging results. The most successful 
fishermen on the lake buy at Newport an 
ordinary silver-plated table spoon. With a 
chisel they cut off the handle close to the 
bowl, filing the bowl smoothly at the severed 
part until all trace of the handle has disap- 
peared. A hole is bored in each end of the 
bowl near the edge, care being taken that 
the holes shall be in line, as the position of 
the holes has an important influence upon the 
revolution of the spoon. Some fishermen 
bend up the back of the spoon to furnish a 
little more resistance to the water. Some- 
times one gets a spoon that revolves like an 
egg; but a slight deviation in boring the 
holes will cause it to make a wider circle 
through the water. The hook should be a 
three-barbed grapnel of medium size. 

For the benefit of amateurs who may wish 



SPOON AND SINKER. 183 

to prepare a similar line and try the experi- 
ment, I will describe in detail the construc- 
tion of a rig. The hook should be hung 
from the large end of the spoon by the inter- 
vention of an ordinary steel ring. Another 
ring is placed in the small end, and to this is 
joined a good swivel, allowing the spoon to 
revolve freely. Two or three feet of gimp 
are fastened to the swivel and the main line 
is joined to the gimp by another swivel. It 
is a good plan to fasten the gimp to the line 
by looped hitches, so that the spoon can be 
readily detached if necessary. Measure off 
twenty-one feet of line from the spoon and 
then attach another swivel. At this point 
the lead line is fastened. It should be five 
feet in length, and should hang perpendicu- 
larly from the main line by a swivel running 
on the line and also another swivel at the 
end where it joins the weight, thus allowing 
the lead to revolve without getting twisted 
in the line. The swivel joining the lead line 
to the main line may be fastened by a piece 
of copper wire to the swivel which connects 



184 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

the main line with the back line. This will 
prevent the lead line from sliding along too 
far on the main line, or the same purpose 
may be served by " ganging," or winding, 
the main Hne so heavily with thread that the 
eye of the swivel will not slip over it. The 
most approved weight is made by blowing 
out the contents of a large egg and using the 
shell in the sand as a mould. A piece of 
heavy wire may be moulded into the lead and 
formed into a staple as a point of attachment 
for the ring. The lead should weigh a 
pound. 

As to the modus operandi, the fisherman 
who rows alone, after a sufficient length of line 
is paid out, according to the nature of the 
ground, fastens his reel in the boat and winds 
the line around his hand so as to bring the 
bearing upon the first finger. In throwing 
out the spoon be careful that the grapnel 
does not catch on the line. Take heed also 
in dropping the lead that it does not twist on 
the main line. The line should be paid out 
until the lead touches the bottom. The boat 



SPOON AND SINKER. 185 

should be gently rowed, just enough to let 
the lead bob along on the bottom, while the 
spoon is kept revolving in the water behind. 
If there is no wind to row against, a gentle 
movement of the oars will suffice. The 
motion of the boat should not be arrested 
long without drawing in the line ; if it is 
the spoon may be trusted to catch on the 
bottom. 

With the line wound around the hand the 
fisherman will find no trouble in managing his 
oars. Indeed there is a great advantage in 
being able to regulate the motion of the boat 
by the intelligence which the oarsman gets 
from below. He soon becomes so accustomed 
to the thud of the lead on the bottom that 
he feels it every time he bends forward to 
take a new dip with his oars. When he 
moves ofP into deeper water and fails to get 
the answering thud, he gradually lengthens 
his line until he feels it again. Sometimes in 
crossing a bar or ledge, the sinker bobs along 
from rock to rock. The motion produced is 
a very deceptive one. The amateur is certain 



186 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP, 

that he has a fish, and is perhaps only unde- 
ceived when he brings his empty spoon to the 
top of the water. 

The necessity of trolling near the bottom 
renders it important that the fisherman should 
know the ground on which he fishes. He 
soon learns, and sometimes by bitter experi- 
ence, the trend of the most dangerous ledges, 
the location of bars, and the outline of the 
channel. The constant use of the lead makes 
him almost as familiar with the topography 
of the bottom as he is with the top. The 
trees and landmarks on the shore serve to fix 
his course. If he fishes on the soft bottom 
he may bob along without much inconven- 
ience, but sooner or later every fisherman 
finds himself suddenly brought to a stand-still 
by a strong and steady tension on his line. 
The practiced troller soon learns the differ- 
ence between a real bite and a " ledge bite." 
When he finds himself fast he immediately 
backs water. If the line is obstinate, he runs 
in the opposite direction to draw the hook out 
of its catch. Sometimes it is the weight that 



SPOON AND SINKER. 187 

is caught between the crevices of the rocks. 
Usually a few minutes will suffice to free it. 
But such hitches occasion no little annoyance 
and delay. Mr. Shayback fished for three 
years without losing a spoon, his account be- 
ing squared by the loss of a couple of leads. 
But sometimes even the most experienced 
fisherman, going out with a good rig, may 
come back minus spoon, lead, and most of 
his line. If he is so unfortunate as to get 
fastened to a ledge when the wind is high, 
he finds it hard work to get loose again. In 
such cases he may buoy his line and leave it 
until calm weather. 

Two summers ago, Mr. Shayback was fish- 
ing off Georgeville in about seventy feet of 
water, when he suddenly felt the tension 
which telegraphs a hitch. He at once backed 
his boat, paid out his line again, and then 
hauled in without success. He worked to 
the north, the east, the south, and the west. 
Half an hour of patient but unavailing effort 
at every point of the compass failed to release 
the obstinate hook. Finally he concluded 



188 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

that he must snap his line and leave it there. 
He determined to secure as much of it as 
possible, and pulled his boat directly over the 
obstruction. Drawing heavily on the line, he 
expected it to snap. He slowly pulled in a 
foot or two. The line seemed elastic ; it gave 
with each added strain. He pulled in a yard, 
then a fathom, and still it came. It was a 
pleasing exercise of the imagination to con- 
jecture the nature of the haul. If not a fish, 
it was a disappointment of an unusually heavy 
order. What could it be? A little twig 
eventually appeared above the water. It was 
followed by a bough, then by a long and 
heavier limb, until finally the trunk of a 
good-sized tree emerged from the water, and 
was drawn across the top of the boat. It 
measured fully twenty feet in length, and 
being water-logged was a tolerably heavy 
load for a man to carry. It seemed hardly 
possible that a tree of this size and weight 
could have been brought from the bottom by 
so small a hook. Undoubtedly if Mr. Shay- 
back had endeavored to raise it at first his 



SPOON AND SINKER. 189 

line would have broken. But having worked 
his boat in every direction before taking the 
direct strain, the tree was dislodged from its 
sandy bed. 

The irony of trolling is occasionally illus- 
trated in the way I have described. To bring 
up a twenty-foot tree from the bottom is a 
poor return for a whole day's work, especially 
when the tree is so water-logged that you can- 
not use it to cook the fish with which you 
revenge yourself the next day. The vexation 
of bringing up a tree or stone, however, is 
small compared with that of leaving your 
spoon and hook at the bottom. 

I have indicated the main conditions of 
success in deep trolling. But in this branch 
of fishing, as in all others, "fisherman's 
luck " plays its mysterious part. Neverthe- 
less there is a growing tendency among fish- 
ermen on the lake to depend more on " sci- 
ence," and less on superstition. The most 
successful fishermen are tliose who pay most 
attention to their " rig ; " who keep their 
spoon shining, and who are fastidiously par- 



190 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

ticular in regard to its whirl ; who, literally 
speaking, have got to the bottom of the 
thing, and know the topography of the lake 
bed with that minuteness which can be ac- 
quired only through a careful study of the 
revelations of the spoon and sinker. During 
the four years in which deep trolling has 
been followed on Memphremagog, the num- 
ber of fish caught by this method has greatly 
increased. This, I think, is not to be attrib- 
uted to an increase of the fish so much as to 
the fact that the fishermen are gradually get- 
ting the knack of it. The number of lunge 
in the lake is small compared with the num- 
ber twenty years ago. The spear and the 
seine have wrought fearful decimations. The 
summer catch under the old method of an- 
gling has been getting smaller and smaller. 
The relative scarcity of fish compared with 
the old-fashioned reign of plenty may be 
seen from the fact that lunge brings fifteen 
cents a pound right on the ground where it is 
caught at Georgeville, and that eighteen and 
twenty cents have been paid at the southern 
end of the lake. 



SPOON AND SINKER. 191 

Success in trolling is very variable. Mr. 
Achilles has caught in one day fifty-three 
pounds, one of the fish weighing sixteen and 
a half pounds. On another day he caught 
seventy-seven and a quarter pounds and sold 
the lot at fifteen cents a pound. The weather 
at this time was tolerably cool and the fish 
seemed to rise in schools on the shoals. This 
is the largest catch ever made in a single day 
by deep trolling. For three or four days 
succeeding the weather was extremely warm 
and hardly a fish was to be caught on these 
grounds. The possibilities of the single deep 
trolling line may be well illustrated by the 
work of Paul Young, a fisherman who de- 
voted himself to the business from the first 
of June until the season closed, October 15. 
His total catch during this time was 1776 
pounds. The largest fish caught during the 
season weighed nineteen pounds. 

The tyro, even when he is provided with 
a good rig, incurs the possibility of failure 
from not knowing the ground over which he 
trolls. But still another source of failure to 



192 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

which even the best fishermen are exposed 
arises from the occasional difficulty of land- 
ing the fish. It is not necessary to let the 
lunge " run/' as with bass or salmon. When 
the telegraphic jerk is fairly felt, the fisher 
may begin to haul in. If the hook is caught 
in the lower jaw, he will generally bring him 
without trouble. It is frequently as easy to 
land a six or seven pound lunge as to land a 
perch. But sometimes it requires all the skill 
of the practiced troller to get his fish on 
board. The amateur, in the excitement of his 
first haul, must be cool indeed if he does not 
pull his fish into the boat without the formal- 
ity of the gafP. He may succeed several times 
in this way, but when he hooks lightly on a 
ten or twelve pounder, and loses it just at the 
side of the boat, he will be apt to seek in fu- 
ture a little instruction in the theory and prac- 
tice of the gaff. The gaff should be about 
three feet in length, with the hook turned a^ 
little outward, and made as sharp as a file can 
make it. Let it be placed near the stern of 
the boat, ready for use. When the fisher- 



SPOON AND SINKER. 193 

man in hauling the line reaches the sinker 
there is still twenty-one feet of line behind it 
upon which the fish is playing. He should 
take the gaff in his right hand and hold it 
there as he draws the line, hand over hand, 
into the boat. As soon as the fish is in reach 
of the gaff, and before it breaks water, he 
should strike beneath it, being careful to keep 
the line taut lest the hook should loosen in 
its mouth. In his excitement he must be 
particularly careful not to strike the fish off 
the hook, by smiting him with the side of his 
gaff. A good fisherman on the lake made it 
a point at first to gaff his fish in the head, 
but having struck one in such a way as to cut 
off the spoon and allow the fish to escape with 
it in his mouth, he changed his tactics and 
gaffs him if possible in the back. But the 
amateur will not find it easy to be particular 
as to how and where he applies that instru- 
ment. He will consider himself fortunate if 
he is able to land his fish at all through its 
agency. Now and then he will hook a lively 
trout that will rise suddenly to the top of the 



194 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

water, and whirl and flap and dart, so that 
it will be a piece of sheer good luck if 
he succeeds in gaf&ng him at all. Misery 
loves company, and while Mr. Shayback 
failed to express sympathy at the time, it has 
only added to the growing feeling of self- 
complacency when he has seen the most skill- 
ful fisherman on the lake sometimes draw up 
one of these whirligigs to the side of his 
boat, put out the gaff to land him, and find 
that he had gone. 

I cannot do justice, in a single paragraph, 
to the attitude of mind which such an experi- 
ence occasions. There is science in catching 
a fish; philosophy comes in when you lose 
him, and to the consolations of philosophy 
the fisherman must betake himself. No man 
can be a fisherman a great while without ac- 
quiring some philosophy of his own. It may 
not be so profound as Kant's or so mystical 
as Hegel's, but it is a philosophy which con- 
dones his mistakes and yields a soothing balm 
for his misfortunes. The fisherman needs to 
invoke it when he finds, as the Apostles did, 



SPOON AND SINKER. 195 

that he has toiled all the day and caught noth- 
ing. But still more does he need it when he 
finds that somebody else who has not toiled 
half as much has gained all that he has lost. 
He has risen at daylight and rowed out to the 
grounds and pulled steadily over the course 
until breakfast. He has worked all the fore- 
noon until dinner time, and taking but a fru- 
gal lunch has plied his oars until sundown, 
and not a bite. And yet the man who is 
rowing alongside of him has taken in thirty 
pounds. Or some other fisherman who has 
spent the whole day lazily ashore rows out an 
hour before sunset, drops his hook on the 
same ground, and fifteen minutes after he has 
cast his line hauls in a ten-pounder. Under 
such circumstances there is no better philoso- 
phy, I imagine, than that of Paul Young, 
who once said to Mr. Shayback, " Well, I 
believe that no man catches another man's 
fish." This is an admirable way of looking at 
it. It is a useful application of the Calvinistic 
doctrine of election to deep trolling. But the 
fisherman himself must illustrate the doctrine 



196 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

of the perseverance of the saints, or he will 
not make his calling and election sure. No 
man can make a good record at " lunging " 
who does not hold out faithfully to the end. 

A chapter, yes, whole volumes might be 
written on the mystery and fickleness of 
fortune exhibited in " fisherman's luck." 
Three of the best fishermen on the lake, 
Moses, John, and Paul, are working side by 
side off the Merriman shoals. They have all 
received that preparation for success in life 
indicated in a good name, though I doubt if 
any of them would honestly say that a Scrip- 
tural name is necessarily better than great 
riches. Their rigs and spoons are as nearly 
alike as they can be made ; the chances for 
success seem to be equal. Yet while Moses 
keeps hauling them in, John and Paul scarcely 
get a bite. 

" This is a victory for the old dispensa- 
tion," said Mr. Shayback, as Moses landed 
another eight-pounder. But on some subse- 
quent day the new dispensation has its turn, 
and Paul or John can show a good string, 



SPOON AND SINKER. 197 

while Moses is saying, " I snum : something 's 
the matter with my spoon." 

But in the long run the doctrine of sowing 
and reaping applies here as it does elsewhere. 
It is the hard-working, industrious, vigilant 
fisherman, who brings intelligence as well as 
perseverance to his art, that has, on the whole, 
the best luck. If fish cannot be had in one 
place, they may be had in another. The 
troller must go where he can find them. His 
spoon must be kept faultlessly bright, his 
hooks sharp, and his line ready. 

At Memphremagog, as everywhere else, 
there are no fish caught so large as those 
which the fisherman loses. It is wonderful 
how much more a trout weighs when he drops 
off the troUer's hook than if he had been 
landed in the boat. Fish never grow so fast 
in the water as they do in the imagination. 
This faculty does not embalm departed fish, 
over which the fisherman has shed many salt 
tears of regret, until it has first sufficiently 
magnified them. Even then their capacity 
for growth does not cease. Old John, I fear. 



198 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

always thinks that the memory of such a fish 
is best preserved when steeped in alcohol, after 
the manner of the museums, and he is quite 
willing to act as the barrel. The fish has 
played an important part in mythology, and 
its career in this field is not yet closed. There 
is as much piscatorial mythology manufac- 
tured to-day as there ever was, and perhaps not 
more on Memphremagog than in other waters. 
I have discovered that the forty-pound 
lunge which my friend Lucius Merriman cap- 
tured some fifteen years ago has a tendency 
to grow a pound heavier every year, when it 
hangs again upon the tongue of some proud 
guardian of its traditions. Such exaggeration 
may sometimes be checked by the contradic- 
tion of a more exact witness, who saw it and 
knew all about it. But the man who has 
failed to land his fish cannot be gainsaid. He 
may add a pound every year to its weight, or 
a foot to its length, and no one can contradict 
him. If he has actually seen the fish in the 
water before it spurned his gaff, then he can 
offer the testimony of his eyes; if he has 



SPOON AND SINKER. 199 

failed to see it before it broke loose from his 
hook he can offer the more glowing testimony 
of his imagination. If one wants to hear 
Spartan Joe Hughes warm up into dramatic 
eloquence, let him be asked to tell the story 
of the great fish which old John Hotham 
failed to land, and which as he jumped from 
the water seemed as large as a full-grown 
man. There is not a fisherman on the lake 
who has not a stock of traditions of his own 
of mythical proportion and variety. After 
one has heard them, he can sit down and 
read the story of Jonah and feel that the ten- 
sion on his credulity has been greatly relaxed. 
There are no stories which the Memphre- 
magog fisherman tells with a keener interest, 
or with greater accuracy, than those which 
relate to lunge spearing. In the old times 
before the law forbade the use of the spear, 
there was an overwhelming massacre of fish 
every fall, the evils of which have been felt 
in the subsequent scarcity. In the latter part 
of October and the early part of November, 
the lunge come up in immense numbers to 



200 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

spawn. They appear in great schools packed 
closely together, and lie nestled around the 
rocks, or swim so far up on the beach that 
their backs are half out of water, and one 
could easily haul them ashore with a gaff, 
without wetting his feet. In the old times a 
favorite spearing place was on the Merriman 
shoals. Here it was not an unusual thing for 
two or three men to spear and cart away an 
ox-load of lunge in a night. The D'ominion 
laws now protect them during the breeding 
season, and watchers are engaged by the gov- 
ernment from October 15 to November 15 to 
see that the laws are stringently executed. 
But when the lunge may be so easily and so 
abundantly taken, it would be strange if the 
law were not fractured very frequently. A 
common ruse is to light a fire at night, at 
some point on the opposite shore. The fish 
officers immediately man their boat and cross 
to capture the violators. While they are fol- 
lowing this decoy, the real law-breakers are 
at work with a jack-light at some point on 
the shore from which the officers have started. 



SPOON AND SINKER, 201 

Nearly every season Mr. Shayback has to act 
as father confessor to some of the natives who 
are only too fond of retailii\g their exploits 
of the previous season. The fishermen gen- 
erally see the wisdom and justice of this law, 
and the government tries to insure their co- 
operation by placing them under oath and 
paying them a fair sum to act as watchers. 
There is the same zest for adventure in break- 
ing the game laws, however, as in smuggling. 
And I have heard of good pillars in the 
church, who would not think of telling a lie 
or taking a cent that did not belong to them, 
who felt that they had a right to beat the 
fish officers, and get their share of lunge. 
The uncertain catch of the troller seems 
meagre indeed, when compared with the har- 
vest of the spear. One night two years ago, 
three fishermen surreptitiously left George- 
ville during the close season, to try their luck 
in Bullock's Bay, and then across the lake. 
They were all skillful oarsmen and managed 
to elude the vigilance of the fish officers. In 
the course of two or three hours, they took 



202 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

five hundred pounds, all large fish. They 
did not dare to land their catch at George- 
ville, as their boat and every pound of fish 
would have been confiscated, in addition to 
the fine imposed. Concealing it for the night 
on Lord's Island, they rowed it the next day 
to Newport, where they sold the fish for sev- 
enty-five dollars. 

As Mr. Shayback has never yet spent any 
time at Memphremagog when fishing was not 
perfectly lawful, he has been saved all tempta- 
tion to engage in this ruthless slaughter. So 
far as the spoon and the sinker are concerned, 
it may be said that the fisherman has to pay 
in good hard work for all his gains by this 
method. The best time for deep trolling is 
in the latter part of September or the first 
part of October, when the fish come up on 
the shoals. In August they seek the cooler 
depths. 

The introduction of deep trolling has 
taught the fishermen not to be tied down to 
old methods, and there are some who think 
that better results than those furnished by the 



SPOON AND SINKER. 203 

spoon may be attained by the use of a phan- 
tom minnow, or, according to others, by a 
live minnow or a smelt fastened on a spinnet 
in place of the spoon. But this yet remains 
to be demonstrated, and I must confess that I 
should have less inclination for fishing, if, 
instead of the bright and innocent spoon, a 
live fish must be used as a lure on the end of 
the fine. 

To Mr. Shayback, not the least advantage 
of this summer occupation during the vaca- 
tion is that he has an opportunity to identify 
his sympathies and interests with these hard- 
working fishermen ; to rise with them at day- 
light ; to labor through storm and heat ; to 
share the vicissitudes of their fortunes ; to 
enjoy the rewards which come from patience 
and industry ; and to bear with philosophic 
calm the loss and pain of irretrievable defeat. 



CHAPTER XII. 

SPOON AND SINKER. THE POETRY OF IT. 

Washington Irving, in his " Sketch Book," 
has given a description of his first attempt 
at angling. He confesses that it was in- 
spired by the seductive pages of honest Izaak 
Walton. " I recollect studying his ' Com- 
plete Angler,' several years since, in company 
with a knot of friends in America, and, more- 
over, that we were all completely bitten by 
the angling mania." " Our first essay was 
along a mountain brook among the High- 
lands of the Hudson, — a most unfortunate 
place for the execution of those piscatory tac- 
tics which had been invented along the velvet 
margins of quiet English rivulets." The ill- 
success of the expedition is described with a 
truthfulness not supposed to be characteristic 
of unlucky fishermen : — 



SPOON AND SINKER. 205 

For my own part, I was always a bungler at all 
kinds of sport that required either patience or 
adroitness, and had not angled above half an hour 
before I had completely satisfied the sentiment 
and convinced myself of the truth of Izaak Wal- 
ton's opinion, that " angling is something like 
poetry, — a man must be born to it." I hooked 
myself instead of the fish, tangled my line in every 
tree, lost my bait, broke my rod, until I gave up 
the attempt in despair, and passed the day under 
the trees, reading old Izaak, satisfied that it was 
his fascinating vein of honest simplicity and rural 
feeling that had bewitched me, and not the pas- 
sion for angling. . . . And, above all, I recollect 
the good, honest, wholesome, hungry repast which 
we made under a beech-tree just by a spring of 
pure, sweet water that stole out of the side of a 
hill ; and how, when it was over, one of the party 
read old Izaak Walton's scene with the milkmaid, 
while I lay on the grass and built castles in the 
bright dome of clouds, until I fell asleep. 

Tested by the standard of the market or 
the larder, or what we may call the prose 
side of fishing, Irving's expedition was a fail- 
ure. But no sympathetic reader can fail to 



206 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

see that, from the poetic side, it was an un- 
doubted success. It was the poetry of the 
pastime that had allured him. The profes- 
sional fisherman may smile at this weak form 
of compensation, but the amateur is often 
obliged to count his gains in this way. In 
more cases than we are wont to suppose there 
exists also in the professional fisherman an 
inborn love for nature, which he could only 
rudely express, but which furnishes an under- 
tone of satisfaction in his work. Every form 
of out-door recreation shares more or less in 
this companionship with nature, but it is the 
peculiar merit of fishing that it furnishes 
time for its contemplation. It is not hilari- 
ous, like hunting, skating, or canoeing, but 
calm and conducive to reflection. If it 
misses much which is furnished by saddle or 
paddle, it also opens another avenue to nature 
which is closed to them. 

But fishing itself is of many kinds, and 
differs much in the emotions it creates. 
There is a vast difference, on the one hand, 
between fishing in a yacht, with a stiff breeze 



SPOON AND SINKER. 207 

and a lively school of bluefish behind, and 
sitting patiently under the cool shade of for- 
est trees on the shores of a lovely inland 
brook, waiting for a trout to rise. The first 
partakes of the exhilaration of the hunt, al- 
beit the fisherman does not pursue, but is 
himself pursued. The second is a dreamy, 
patient, hopeful form of inertia, which has 
its own inherent satisfaction. But the tr oiler 
for lake trout has a province of his own, 
which furnishes a happy medium between the 
exuberant excitement of the first and the 
patient inertia of the second. 

The routine of our camp has never been so 
established as to make early rising a neces- 
sity. To do this would be to remove it from 
the catalogue of virtues. Whenever, there- 
fore, we rise at half-past four in the morning, 
slip from the camp unobserved, and quietly 
push off a boat into the calm, clear water, it 
is not without a certain sense of superiority. 
Egotism is said to be almost inevitably an ac- 
companiment of early rising. But the charm 
of self- contemplation is soon lost in the en- 



208 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

joyment of material beauties which do not 
need to be suffused with the heightened color 
of our pride. Homer, with archaic simplic- 
ity, makes nearly all his days begin with the 
sunrise, as though a day could not begin 
properly at any other time. He paints them 
with a single stroke of his pen, as if they 
were familiar to his readers. The modern 
day for the city dweller does not, in this late- 
rising zone, begin with the sunrise, except in 
the dead of winter. For the rest of the year, 
the sun has a few hours' start of him. He 
misses Homer's rosy-fingered morn. 

The sunrise is the oldest and yet the new- 
est event in the world. It should be in itself 
a process of mental and spiritual regeneration 
to witness the birth of a new day. No one 
has really seen a sunrise unless he has been 
kindled by it. It is an old, old story of the 
world, but one repeated with ever-varying 
eloquence. Nature never tires of revealing 
her life and what seems to be her joy, — a 
symphony of color in the sky, an answering 
orchestra in the forests, a fugue of bird notes. 



SPOON AND SINKER. 209 

a new freshness in the rustle of the trees, a 
new song to the brook. Do the winds them- 
selves get drowsy ? Or what subtle and mys- 
terious anodyne is it that lulls the lake to 
sleep at night ? There are times of frightful 
stormy revel, when the night winds roar 
through the forest and tear the lake into 
foam. But these are exceptional. In gen- 
eral, the winds seem to retire to their fabled 
caves at sundown, and the lake lies sleeping 
on its bed as calmly and sweetly as the camp 
baby in its hammock. As we move from the 
wharf in our skiff and gently dip the water 
with the oar, it seems as if the whole lake 
felt the tremor of the boat. Has the morn- 
ing light unloosed the leash of the breeze ? 
Ripple after ripple wrinkles the surface : the 
air is all astir with new life, and we breathe 
its quickening freshness. 

To the poetry of color and the poetry of 
sound, we add the poetry of motion. We are 
moving softly and gently over the surface. 
This is the charm of trolling. To Mr. Shay- 
back there is no poetry in the motion of a 



210 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

boat at anchor, especially when wind and 
waves are high. It is not, then, the solar 
light that impresses him, but the solar plexus. 
Such motion is apt to develop anything but 
poetic feelings. But there is an indefinable 
charm in the straightforward, gently moving 
boat. Each dip of the ash blade cuts a silver 
scroll, and miniature whirlpools spin in its 
cool path. The water drops in a gentle 
shower from the oar. The lake itself never 
becomes monotonous. It toys with our feel- 
ings as if it were a practiced coquette. We 
never can tell one hour what aspect it will 
present in the next. Sometimes, it is a mirror 
in which the clouds may make their toilet. It 
is delightful then to dip the oar into the mol- 
ten glass, and leave a long retinue of airy- 
domed bubbles in the wake. Again, the lake 
is a wrinkled sheet, ruffled by coy breezes. 
The same gentle gale that fans the water fans 
the oarsman, and gives a new impulse to his 
blade. Or, later, the wrinkled sheet becomes 
a wild, tempestuous sea, rolling with billows, 
crested with foam. The fisherman can then 



SPOON AND SINKER. 211 

no longer lightly pull with his arms, but must 
throw all the strength of leg and back into 
the effort. 

If his line is out, the troller may not go 
too near the shore ; and yet the shore never 
loses its interest for his eye. It furnishes 
him with landmarks by which he determines 
his position. He has learned to mark the 
bottom by the contour and piquancies of the 
shore. Away on a lofty hill is a solitary tree. 
It stands like a sentinel on that eminence. 
The fisherman has discovered that there is 
a very definite relation between that hill on 
shore and another hill which lies buried in 
the water beneath hini. He knows the angle 
which the bow of his boat should bear toward 
that friendly tree, to pass in safety the ob- 
struction beneath. The whole shore is his 
chart. He has learned to read it. Yet it is 
always poetic in its utility. The sky line of 
the hills dips and rises as we move slowly along 
beyond reach of its shadow. There is no mo- 
notony in the foliage. It is a luxurious in- 
terblending of maple and hemlock, spruce, 



212 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

cedar, and birch. We not only recognize the 
trees in families : we have come to individu- 
alize them. We feel a sense of personal re- 
lationship toward many of them. Even the 
distant ones are not remote from our com- 
panionship. There is a tree fully five miles 
away, seeming like a little bush against the 
sky ; yet we know that, when the stern of 
our boat is in line with that tree, we shall not 
be suddenly called to account by the grapnel 
at the bottom for swerving from the right 
path. The isolated trees on the distant hills 
assume animated shapes under the wand of 
imagination. A group of three, representing 
a man and woman accompanied by a dog, is 
so persistent in its suggestions that it seems 
almost real. The smoke rising from a farm- 
house up on the hill gives a human interest 
to the scene. The tall poles fixed at regular 
intervals mark the fine of the road which 
runs along the hill-top away on the east 
shore. The telephone has pierced Canadian 
forests. While we are gently rowing, the 
human voice — with the swiftness of thought 



SPOON AND SINKER. 213 

— is speeding its messages, bounding over hill 
and valley, gorge and stream, but never losing 
its way. And yet it is not the human voice 
at all, but a form of motion which we can 
name, but not explain. 

But there is a third element in the scen- 
ery, and this the most poetic of all, — the 
scenery of the sky. The imagination cannot 
range far on the shore, for the world of fact 
constantly challenges its purported fictions. 
It may dive deep into the lake, and picture 
whole schools of large and luscious trout 
eager to catch the whirling spoon. But we 
have too much experience to be deceived by 
such phantasms. When it mounts to the sky, 
however, it may range with unchecked exu- 
berance. The ever-shifting clouds furnish 
endless material for its creations. It peoples 
the heavens once more with enormous giants, 
and lets loose whole menageries of living 
creatures, — elephants whiter than the Rose 
of India and larger than the mourned-for 
Jumbo, lions of indescribable vigor, polar 
bears, tigers, camels. We pause to give a 



214 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

few moments to the prosaic task of examining 
our line, when, presto ! the whole scene has 
changed. The menageries have consolidated, 
as menageries are apt to do, and have finally 
been swept out of existence. We witness a 
magnificent example of cloud-building. There 
are castles in the air with lofty towers and 
impregnable ramparts. The castles melt into 
a man-of-war, which floats on the air current, 
until it settles on Owl's Head, as the ark 
rested on Ararat, but only to be wrecked and 
dissipated into a lovely veil, which shrouds 
the mountain peak in its delicate folds. 
Sometimes, the blue canvas is entirely clear, 
not a speck of white cloud on its surface. 
Sometimes, a few wreaths of mist float over 
us like white gulls. The next day there are 
vast argosies of cloud. Great brigades of 
mist wheel into battle-line, and move across 
the sky with unbroken front. There is the 
low rumble of artillery. We put on our 
waterproofs, but we do not think of going 
ashore. Blacker and blacker grow the cloud 
masses. The lightning gleams in the sky, 



SPOON AND SINKER. 215 

and the rain begins to fall on the surface of 
the lake. First a ring here, then a ring 
there, then a score of them, then myriads. 
Every drop that falls upon the water has its 
rebound. It not only rains down, but it rains 
up. Millions on millions of silver pellets leap 
from the surface of the water, and then sink 
again into the circle they have made. The 
lake seems to be covered with a heavy frost. 
In a few minutes, the rain has spent its force 
and ceases almost as suddenly as it began, 
only, perhaps, to be renewed a few minutes 
later. It is a storm, however, with no fierce- 
ness. The clouds have simply come down to 
take a bath ; and the dark, heavy masses 
show us that the bath is not yet completed. 
Yet, in the south. Owl's Head stands out 
clear cut from base to peak, though heavily 
shaded by the black clouds that cut off the 
light of the sun in the west. A little streamer 
of mist floats idly above the mountain peak, 
and to the left a long cloud ribbon seems to 
be preparing to encircle its head. To the 
north, a pale, almost supernatural light trans- 



216 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

figures the fleecy masses of white. Once 
more, the raindrops patter on the lake ; but 
it is a light and gentle shower. We watch 
with eagerness to see what is to be the reso- 
lution of the picture. There are clouds of 
leaden hue, clouds of white, and others of 
inky blackness, and no sign of color on the 
canvas. Will the leaden hue spread over the 
sky ? For a few minutes, the intentions of 
the Artist are left in doubt. Then there is a 
rift in the dark mass. Veins of silver and 
gold convert it into precious ore. There is a 
silent yet concerted breaking up. A grand 
water-color exhibition it is, — dyes of lovely 
blue, a few floating clouds of saffron, streaks 
of claret red, and stretches of pale green, and 
bands of old gold, touched with delicate and 
indefinable pigments ! What a magnificent 
canvas, and how beautifully the colors are 
laid ! In the east, the reconciling rainbow 
stretches its broad chromatic arch with un- 
broken span. And, now, the sun is going 
down in the west with unspeakable splendor. 
The whole air is saturated with a soft crim- 



SPOON AND SINKER. 217 

son light, which bathes the hills and lake in 
its delicate glow. If this were to be the last 
day of the world, Nature could not have 
brought it to a finer close. Gradually, the 
crimson veil is lifted, the red and gold fade 
into purple. 

We turn our boat to the shore, and bless 
the charm of the day, with its rhythm of wind 
and wave and its indescribable beauties of color. 
Eight hours have we spent on the lake, com- 
ing in only for breakfast and dinner. As we 
near the wharf, the children run down to the 
shore, and shout, " Did you get anything ? " 
— as though this day of ours could be 
weighed in the scales and baked in a pan ! 
What have we caught ? A ledge or two, 
perhaps, a few twigs from the bottom ; but 
something more. We have caught the charm 
of the sunrise, and been kindled with its 
glow ; we have caught the inspiration of the 
infinite blue above us, and reveled in the fan- 
tastic imagery of mist and cloud forms ; we 
have rejoiced in the rich drapery of the forest 
and the fresh verdure of the field ; we have 



218 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

climbed the mountains at a glance, and wan- 
dered over the peaks of Orford and Elephan- 
tis ; we have seen the swift transitions of the 
lake moods, the placid mirror moulded into 
the billowy sea. The shower has caught us ; 
but we have also caught the shower, and seen 
its clouds dissolve into the lake cup. We shall 
sail on those clouds to-morrow, and drop our 
spoon and sinker in them. We have seen the 
lake rimed with a silver sheen and graven 
with circles like the tracery on a watch ; we 
have seen the glorified span of the rainbow 
and the poem of the sunset. Nature has 
opened her door to us, and shown us her 
treasures as a bride shows her trousseau. This 
is a catch which cannot be weighed or served 
up at a camp dinner, except in the form of 
grateful emotions. We have stored up muscle 
of body and beautiful pictures for the mind. 
By the reckoning of Washington market, we 
have lost a day. As we measure it ourselves, 
we have gained one, the value of which can- 
not be reckoned by the piece of coin which 
we failed to find in a fish's mouth. 



SPOON AND SINKER. 219 

Do not think, however, that solitude is the 
only condition in which this poetry of trolling 
can be enjoyed. On the contrary, a fresh 
poetic element is introduced when a lady sits 
in the stern of the boat, holds the line in her 
gloved hand, and, while practicing her artful 
allurements on the watery world beneath, 
lends the charm of her presence to the things 
which are above. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

TO BROME LAKE. 

It is a part of the yearly plan of the Shay- 
backs to make one or two trips from their 
permanent camp on Memphremagog into the 
interior. Across the lake from their camp- 
ing-ground may be seen against the sky the 
wavy outline of the Bolton Mountains, broken 
sharply in one place by a V-shaped cleft. 
Several miles beyond this cleft lies Brome 
Lake, reputed to be rich in bass and pickerel, 
and withal one of the prettiest cups which 
the mountain holds in the hollow of its hand. 

" To Brome Lake it is," was the unanimous 
vote of all those in camp who are entitled to 
the exercise of suffrage, a privilege which is 
not limited by sex, color, or previous condition 
of servitude. 

The expedition, as organized, consisted of 



TO BROME LAKE. 221 

Calvin and his son Frank, Arline, Digit, Dio- 
datus, and Mr. and Mrs. Shayback. Mrs. 
Ganzbach generously volunteered to remain 
in camp to take care of the children. The 
lunch-baskets were well packed. Waterproofs, 
fishing tackle, a hatchet, and a small supply 
of rope were a part of the excursion outfit. 
The trip from camp to Georgeville, a mile 
distant, was made in small boats under escort 
of the children. As no vehicle of sufficient 
size could be obtained on the opposite shore 
of the lake, Mr. Tuck's team, already familiar 
to the excursionists, had been engaged for the 
trip, and met the party at the wharf where 
the ferry-boat Memphremagog was lying, de- 
veloping the energy necessary for the passage. 
The Memphremagog embodies none of the 
beauty of the lake after which it is named. 
It is built like a catamaran, with a single 
paddle-wheel, which is not placed behind like 
a Western river steamer, but just aft the cen- 
tre of the boat. It is a double-decker, with 
room for several teams, provided the horses 
are unharnessed before embarkation. It 



222 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

makes two trips across the lake daily, one at 
8.30 A. M. and the other at 5 p. m. It spends 
the intervening time in such jobs as it may 
pick up. It is capable of running where 
there is a small degree of moisture ; but its 
feeble engine propels it with a series of pain- 
ful, wheezing gasps, which excite the sympa- 
thy of the passenger. It can possibly make 
five miles an hour, under favorable circum- 
stances ; but these circumstances did not ex- 
ist on the day referred to. Its crew consists 
of captain, engineer, and a boy. 

Team, baggage, and excursionists were duly 
embarked. By crowding and manoeuvring 
room was also provided for four open bug- 
gies and horses. Thus laden the lines were 
cast off, and the ferry-boat, which resembles 
Noah's ark, slightly modernized, set out for 
the opposite shore. When about a quarter 
of a mile from the landing shouts were heard 
from the wharf, and a man with another 
horse and buggy was seen gesticulating vio- 
lently. He had arrived just too late to take 
the boat ; and as the next trip would not be 



TO BROME LAKE. 223 

made until five o'clock in the afternoon, the 
thought of waiting eight hours for a chance 
to cross had engendered active emotions. But 
it was impossible to enlarge the boat at such 
short notice, and the captain was saved the 
temptation of returning for an additional 
fare. 

Opposite Georgeville on the west shore of 
the lake rises a lofty cliff known as Gibraltar. 
Here the first settlement on the lake is said 
to have been made. No trace of the original 
occupancy is visible ; but in a little bay under 
the shadow of this cliff is a miniature wharf 
where passengers are landed for Peasley's 
Corner, a village consisting mainly of two 
churches, a store, and a blacksmith shop. 
The landing at this point was made without 
difficulty, and all the teams save one disem- 
barked. But in attempting to move off, the 
hawser caught fast in a log and swung the 
boat around upon the beach. 

" She 's aground," said the captain, and 
rang the bell to back. But the engine was 
in a feebler condition than usual from a 



224 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

cause subsequently revealed, and the boat 
would not budge. The captain rushed down 
from the pilot-house and jumped overboard. 
Arthur, the boy, who was on the wharf, 
joined the captain in the water, and the two 
applied their united strength against the side 
of the boat, while the engineer looked help- 
lessly over the rail. Mr. Tuck and Mr. Shay- 
back seized a pole and drove it into the sand. 
Arline seized another and did likewise. She 
had not served as deck-hand on a small steam 
yacht in vain. The combined force of heroic 
wills and persistent muscles was too much for 
the stubborn inertia of the Memphremagog. 
She swung slowly from the beach into deep 
water, and the captain, watching his opportu- 
nity, sprang aboard. But the faithful Arthur 
stayed a moment too long, and was soon up 
to his neck in water and the boat slowly 
leaving him. A rope was flung to him from 
the deck ; and, Mr. Tuck, Mr. Shayback, and 
the captain taking hold, he was drawn up as 
though he had been a huge fish. His good- 
nature was water-proof, and he proceeded to 



TO BROME LAKE. 225 

empty his boots and wring iiimself out as if 
this were a part of his daily experience. 

The Shaybaeks congratulated themselves 
on avoiding what might have been a vexa- 
tious delay. When it was discovered, how- 
ever, that the boat had nearly another mile 
to run before reaching Knowlton's Landing, 
and that every stick of wood had been cast 
into the fire-box, the advantage of pushing 
off from the shore was questionable. The 
engine wheezed and gasped more than ever, 
the piston showed a feebler pulse, and the 
fuel was in the last stages of consumption. 
The resource of the captain did not desert 
him. He looked about for some object with 
which to replenish the slowly dying flame. 
There was nothing inflammable in the cargo. 
But the captain was not discomfited. With 
admirable decision he determined to set his 
boat afire for the purpose of keeping up 
steam. He seized an axe, tore off a plank, 
and the resolute Arthur cut it into lengths 
for the hungry furnace. It was a dangerous 
precedent to set, and one that needed to be 



226 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

exercised within obvious limitations. The 
good judgment of the captain was evident 
throusrhout this transaction. Had he taken 
a plank from the bottom of the boat instead 
of somewhere on the top, our voyage would 
have been rapidly shortened, and the fires 
under the boiler would have been effectually 
quenched. Or had he set fire to the plank 
before separating it from the rest of the boat 
the danger from too much fire would have 
been greater than that which we suffered 
from having too little. There was only one 
way in which the captain could have showed 
better judgment than he did, and that was 
by taking a sufficient quantity of wood to 
start with. 

Inspired by the ardor of this new plank 
the engine took a fresh start, and passengers 
and teams were soon landed safely on the 
shore. The conveyance hired by the Shay- 
backs was the open, three-seated stage used 
on the ten-mile route from Georgeville to 
Smith's Mills, and the horses may be prop- 
erly described as old stagers/ One of them 



TO BROME LAKE. 227 

had long before received a " Doctor's " di- 
ploma from his owner, whether out of com- 
pliment to the medical or clerical profession 
I know not. But Mr. Shayback, who handled 
the ribbons, chose to regard him as a doctor 
of philosophy, because of the philosophical 
way in which he shirked his half of the load. 
The other horse, a little black, an active, am- 
bitious creature, ought long since to have 
sued for a divorce from the " Doctor," and 
found a mate better fitted to her pace in 
life. 

There could not be a greater contrast to a 
prairie ride than one over Canadian hills and 
through Canadian forests. Tough hills they 
were to climb and steep descents, when Mr. 
Shayback had to take a short hold on the 
reins and give a strong push on the brakes. 
Enormous masses of rock jutted out from the 
hill-tops or flanked the roadside, assuming 
fantastic shapes under a pliant imagination, 
the most familiar to Mr. Shayback being that 
of a fish's head, especially that of a lake 
trout. His devotion to this fish finds anal- 



228 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

ogies in clouds and landscape, and realities 
in the depths and shallows of Memphrema- 
gog. The first part of our way lay through 
beautiful maple orchards. Indeed, the maple 
was never far from our path. The mountain 
sides were clothed in white birch and cedar, 
with alternations of ash, spruce, elm, beech, 
poplar, hemlock, and occasional pines. For 
a time our road skirted Sargent's Bay, an 
arm of Memphremagog. Then we were left 
alone with the forests and mountains. A 
vast blackberry patch, too far from a market 
to tempt the picker's cupidity, offered a chal- 
lenge of fruit and brambles, which was 
promptly accepted by the party. Enough 
was gathered in a short time for a generous 
dessert to our lunch, which was reinforced 
by milk, maple sugar, and boiled potatoes 
obtained from a farmhouse. 

In the ride of fourteen miles the only vil- 
lage we passed through was one of half a 
dozen houses, called Rexford's Corner. As 
we advanced the way grew more open, and 
the hot sun less agreeable than the shade we 



TO BROME LAKE. 229 

had left behind. Early in the afternoon we 
reached our destination, the village of Knowl- 
ton at the head of Brome Lake. A brisk 
and enterprising village it is, with about eight 
hundred inhabitants, three churches, two ho- 
tels, seven stores, a pump factory, and a large 
tannery. An orphans' home is also situated 
here. We noticed several fine residences in 
the midst of luxuriant gardens. At the Lake 
View House excellent accommodation for man 
and beast was found at very reasonable rates. 
Just think of supper, lodging, and breakfast 
for seventy-five cents ! 

The lake is but a short walk from the 
hotel. It is about three miles by four in ex- 
tent, — a beautiful sheet of water, with low 
banks and sedges, and a few hills in the dis- 
tance. A wooded island near the centre of 
the lake is one of its pleasantest features. 
Neither in extent, variety, nor picturesqueness 
can it compare with Memphremagog. It 
lacks its rocky shores and its bulwark of 
mountains. By means of a branch road to 
Sutton Junction Brome Lake taps the rail- 



230 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

road from Boston to Montreal, and is about 
sixty miles distant from the latter city. 
Sportsmen are lured from Montreal by the 
abundance of pickerel and black bass. A 
beautiful string of bass weighing twenty-nine 
pounds, and one of the fish weighing seven 
and three quarters, was taken the day of our 
stay. A man, we were told, — and we al- 
ways were susceptible to fish stories, — could 
sometimes catch a barrel of pickerel in a day. 

Two boats were hired, a voyage was made 
to the island, and a bath taken in the de- 
lightful waters of the lake. Arline and Mr. 
Shayback in one boat, and Calvin and the 
boys in another, essayed to catch a barrel of 
pickerel. Arline landed a beautiful two- 
pounder; but her success proved ruinous to 
the spoon, and the sun soon went down upon 
our humiliation and an empty barrel. In 
another venture in the early morn the spoon 
was lost altogether ; but we believe that there 
is still a barrel of pickerel in Brome Lake 
waiting^ for our hooks. 

Though spending a single night at Brome 



TO BROME LAKE. 231 

Lake we could see easily how one could pass 
a delightful vacation on its shores, especially 
the lover of rod and gun. 

Our journey home was made through the 
Bolton Notch. The day was tempered with 
a cool, refreshing breeze, and the road lay 
through grateful forest shades and between 
rocky cliffs. On the top of the mountain we 
paused awhile at Coon Pond, famous in this 
region for its trout. A scow was hired from 
two small boys, and an hour was spent on 
the pond or in its vicinity, Mrs. Shayback 
seeking to catch some of its beauty with her 
camera, and Arline seeking to catch some of 
its fish with her hook. 

Mrs. Shayback's plates have long since been 
developed, but no amount of time will suffice 
to develop Arline's mythical fish. It was just 
at this point that Calvin and Digit deter- 
mined to start on and hunt for blackberries, 
assuming that they would eventually be over- 
taken by the team. When the march was 
once more resumed, no answer was returned 
to signal shouts from Mr. Shayback. We 



232 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

drove on until a high hill was reached and a 
small house was passed. No travelers had 
been seen that way. Mr. Shayback sounded 
war whoops until his throat was hoarse ; but 
Digit's well-known loon wail was not heard in 
reply. What had become of the wanderers ? 
Had they been eaten by bears ? Had they 
impaled themselves on a blackberry-bush or 
lost themselves in the woods ? A search ex- 
pedition was organized. Diodatus started 
ahead on the trail, while Frank took the 
back track over the hill. In a few minutes 
a signal call from Dio announced that the 
wanderers had been found. They had not 
been hugged or eaten by bears. They had not 
been impaled on a blackberry-bush. They 
were sitting in the shade by the roadside, 
waiting for the team. The keen perception 
of our Koxbury scout had discovered the 
prints of an American foot on Canadian soil ; 
and, with much emotion, the relief expedition 
and the survivors were received into the 
bosom of the wagon. 

The lovely features of this ride are photo- 



TO BROME LAKE. 233 

graphed in the mind with a distinctness which 
Mrs. Shayback's camera could not surpass. 
Long to be remembered will be the pictur- 
esque halting-placo through a narrow defile 
shaded by forest trees, where a beautiful 
brook ran over the mossy rocks on one side of 
the road, and a cold spring trickled into a 
natural cup in the rocks on the other side. 
Blackberries by the million offered themselves 
for the picking. The horses were unhar- 
nessed and drank eagerly from the rocky 
basin. Lunch was eaten by the brook side, 
and Mr. Shayback's cold brook-soaked oat- 
meal crackers were pronounced rarely deli- 
cious. Beautiful moss, delicate forget-me-nots, 
and wild clematis were floral trophies of the 
ride. 

It was on this trip that Mr. Shayback 
earned as a driver the appellation of Hank 
Monk. Readers of Mark Twain's " Roughing 
It," or of Richardson's " Beyond the Missis- 
sippi," will not forget the prominent part 
which this noted Jehu plays in Western my- 
thology. The way in which he " put Horace 
Greeley through,^^ when that soul of honesty 



234 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

was on a lecturing tour, is a tradition as well 
established in the West as the story of the 
flood is in the East. When Mr. Greeley's 
head popped through the top of the coach, 
he told Hank that he need n't drive quite so 
fast ; but Hank told him not to mind, he 
would put him through, and so he did. Mr. 
Shayback has earned the similar glory of 
" putting through " the passengers on the 
hind seat of the stage. Fortunately there 
was no top to the stage to impede their flight 
into the air when at the foot of a hill we flew 
over the holes and " thank yer ma'ams." But 
Mr. Shayback told them not to mind, he 
would " put them through," and so he did. 
The horses and the stage stood it beautifully ; 
and when, finally, " Hank " Shayback turned 
them over to Harry, the teamster, when the 
journey was finished, " There is no man," 
said Harry, " I 'd rather let drive my team 
than Mr. Shayback." 

To Mr. Shayback this compliment was 
worth more than all the butter and honey 
which we bought at Farmer Tuck's on the 
way home. 



CHAPTER XIV. ^ 

MASSAWIPPI. 

The very name has an enticing sound. In 
its soft, lisping syllables, one can almost hear 
the waters of the beautiful lake, whose name 
it is, lapping the shores. We had long heard 
of Lake Massawippi. At last we determined 
to see it. Who "we'* were does not matter 
an atom ; but there were five of us, four wo- 
men and one man, and a pair of horses. 

It was a cool, brisk autumn morning, with 
the sun peering over billows of mist that 
skirted the mountains, when the big team 
that was to carry us the seventeen miles drove 
up. Wraps and shawls, and a very ancient 
buffalo robe, exceedingly bald in spots, were 
comfortable in the chilly air. Luncheon and 
hand-bags, camera and tripod, were handed 
in, and away we drove. 



236 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

For miles the road led up and up, till at 
last a beautiful panorama of hill and dale, 
mountain and valley, lay spread out before us, 
with Lake Memphremagog sleeping peace- 
fully in the midst. For this was a side-trip 
from the tented field on its tranquil shores. 

Such views are exhilarating. They raise 
one's thoughts and aspirations ; and, in such 
lofty air, one thinks no longer of rocky roads 
or hard-springed wagons. Then came shady 
woods where the graceful maiden-hair fern 
grew in great bunches almost as the common- 
est ferns in Massachusetts grow. The sun 
rode high, and the lights and shadows of the 
forest primeval were bewitching. Now and 
then a wood bird or a squirrel darted about 
among the trees ; but, aside from this, no life 
save that of the growing vegetable world ap- 
peared. Once in a great while, a little open- 
ing in the wood, a rough clearing, and a rude 
log cabin broke the monotony ; and the little 
children, that invariably were playing outside, 
stared in surprise as we rattled past. 

As dinner time approached, we drove up to 



MASSAWIPPI. 237 

a cozy farmhouse for a pitcher of milk. The 
buzz of spinning-wheels was heard within. 
Hosanna, whose only acquaintance with that 
homely machine was as a modern parlor orna- 
ment, jumped out of the wagon, and went in 
to " see the wheel go round." Such interest 
on her part was as much a curiosity to the 
buxom spinner as was the spinning to the 
Yankee girl. No milk could we get, how- 
ever. 

The next farmhouse supplied us with a 
bottle of delicious milk, fresh tomatoes from 
the vine, new apples, and a plateful of hot 
potatoes in their jackets. We drove under 
the shade of some overhanging trees, and, 
with this addition to the luncheon we had 
brought, had a repast fit for a king. 

At last, a turn in the road revealed to us 
the lake, lying like a letter S among the green 
hills. But our first point of interest was be- 
yond the lake, a mile or more, a wild glen 
or gorge where the Burroughs River comes 
tumbling down in falls that shatter the water 
into froth and foam and crystal beads. 



238 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

Tying our horses to a Virginia fence, which 
they took the liberty to tear down in our 
absence, we clambered down the glen side till 
we could look up at the beautiful cascade. 
Hemmed in by abrupt stone walls, and broken 
everywhere in its course by huge masses of 
fallen rock, it comes dancing down in frantic 
haste, as if to free itself in the troubled river 
below. It is a wild, picturesque place, almost 
unknown to modern travelers, yet well worth 
a visit. The camera was called into use to 
catch a part of its beauty ; but the play of 
light and shade, the richness of coloring in 
rock, tree, and sky, eluded us, as they always 
elude the best endeavors. 

The quiet afternoon, with the sunset bright- 
ness on lake and shore, lured us back to the 
side of Massawippi. A boatman was found 
who proved to be a character. As he pulled 
steadily on with his sinewy arms, — by trade 
he was a blacksmith, — he kept time with his 
tongue, telling, in quaint, original English, 
tales of the neighborhood. Beneath us where 
we rowed, a fine new sleigh was lost through 



MASSAWIPPI. 239 

the ice last winter. Yonder, a stranger fish- 
erman was upset in his log boat, while trying 
to land a twenty-five-pound sturgeon. Be- 
yond that point, the Burroughs River flowed 
into the l^e, named from the famous coun- 
terfeiter and thief who milled " hard money " 
in a cave near the falls, and sold it afterward 
in Boston for ten cents a dollar. He had a 
charmed life. Twice condemned to death, he 
picked his prison locks, changed his name, 
became a minister, lived to old age, and died 
in his bed, a finale which our informant 
seemed to think a great piece of injustice. 
Into the next bay the waters of the Tomopho- 
bia flow. Calmed down from its boisterous 
course in Stanstead, it becomes placid and 
deep, and forms a home for untold schools of 
fish. 

The lake itself is marvelous in this respect. 
Sturgeon, lake trout, salmon trout, masqu'al- 
longe, bass, perch, shad, and chub abound ; 
and, during certain seasons of the year, hun- 
dreds of pounds are caught. 

Our boatman finally discovered that he had 



240 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

lived ten years in the same town with one of 
his passengers, whereupon he grew garrulous 
and poured out reminiscence after reminis- 
cence, accompanied by dry wit and shrewd 
remarks that kept his listeners more than a 
little amused. 

At last the weary oars were laid down ; and 
we found our way back to the smartly painted 
hotel, where a stifled night, after the fresh air 
of tent dwellings, awaited us. 

The next day dawned hot and sultry, and 
the fish refused, as on the preceding day, to 
bite ; and we determined to return early, tak- 
ing the longer road byway of Magog, through 
woods where little brown bears have been 
seen this very summer. What an inducement 
that was ! How we longed to see one, though 
a fish gaff was our only weapon of defense ! 

It was a charming return drive, through 
almost wild country, with only now and then 
the tiny log-cabin, the little patch of oats or 
wheat, the great forests aglow here and there 
with maple -trees that looked like pillars of 
flame, the fern-decked highway, the alder 



MASSA WIPPI. 241 

bushes half hid beneath the hoary glory of 
clematis, the carpet of bunch-berries, and the 
endless seas of purple and white asters. 

Once we caught sight, through an open 
door, of a woman in a snowy apron " working 
over " butter, and for ten cents rescued a 
half-pound before its sweet taste was smoth- 
ered in salt. Once we passed a farmhouse 
where fowls abounded, and drove on with a 
hatful of eggs. Again, we heard the hum- 
ming of bees, and a box of delicious honey 
was added to our treasures. Next, we passed 
crab-apple-trees bending beneath their loads 
of crimson and yellow fruit ; and, at a word, 
a beautiful branch was placed at our disposal. 

And thus we journeyed on, enjoying the 
beauty and sharing the fruits of this interest- 
ing land. For the last ten miles the road 
runs on a high bluff that overlooks Memphre- 
magog ; and the views are simply superb. 
But, after all, there was nothing in our whole 
trip that looked to us so beautiful as the 
sunny bay around whose curve the camp tents 
were gleaming in the sun, and about whose 
open doors the little ones were playing. 



CHAPTER XV. 

OUR LOG-CABIN. 

It was our trip to Massawippi that in- 
spired it. Coming back from that beautiful 
lake, through long stretches of Canadian for- 
est, during which Hosanna held the fish gaff 
in her hand prepared for a demonstration 
from any obtrusive bear, we noticed, in the 
intervals when our solicitude was slightly re- 
laxed, the picturesque rough-and-readiness of 
Canadian log-cabins. Their architecture was 
distinguished by simplicity and strength. 
The cabins seemed to fit naturally into their 
surroundings. They would not have seemed 
ornamental on Commonwealth Avenue ; but 
here, under the shade of the trees from which 
they were reared, their rugged squattiness 
blended easily with the architecture of the 
forest. 



OUR LOG-CABIN. 243 

" How nice it would be," it was said, " to 
have a log-cabin in camp ! " The suggestion 
was ratified by all in the wagon ; and, for a 
time, Hosanna forgot about the anticipated 
bear in contemplating the security of a house 
which bears could not invade. 

The idea was planted in the camp brain, 
and from time to time tenderly watered ; but 
it took two years for it to grow to fruition. 
For nine years the Shaybacks had dwelt be- 
neath duck and drilling. The log-cabin was 
therefore looked upon as in no wise a neces- 
sity, but simply as a luxury. It was in cool 
weather that the tempting vision rose more 
frequently before our eyes with pictures of 
the broad open fireplace, the crackling flame, 
and the evening mirth within its walls, defy- 
ing all adversity of storm and temperature. 
What more beautiful site for a cabin than 
that offered by their present camp ! They 
would have to search far and wide for a bet- 
ter one. Farmer Bigelow cordially gave his 
consent ; and, in a camp council held this 
summer, it was finally decided to build the 
cabin. 



244 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

Achilles^ the joiner, insisted that it would 
be much cheaper and better to build a frame 
shanty ; but the Shaybacks retorted that a 
frame shanty is an abomination. A log-cabin 
they were bound to have. When Achilles 
found that Ephraim was joined to his idols, 
he determined to let him alone ; but he pro- 
nounced no curse upon the enterprise, and 
was kind enough to suggest a native work- 
man who was equal to the task. 

By unanimous consent, the site chosen for 
the cabin was in the birch and cedar grove 
between our dining-room tent and the lake. 
By a little planning, we managed to save 
some of the best of the trees around the pro- 
posed cabin. In the heavy growth of woods 
which lies between the camp and the road, it 
matters little where one falls. But in the 
grove which skirts the lake shore, where the 
birches are planted in the rocks beneath, and 
the cedars join their shade and shelter, every 
tree is precious. The ruthless axe of the 
woodman must not venture here until a court 
has been held and judgment pronounced 



OUR LOG-CABIN. 245 

against the life of any offending tree. The 
loss of even a few boughs might spoil the 
union of branch and leaf that frames the 
vista to the lake. 

No surveyor was needed to stake off the 
ground, nor was any architect required. It 
is said that, when the present meeting-house 
of the First Parish, Dorchester, was under- 
taken in 1816, the builder took a shingle, 
and drew a plan resembling that of the Rox- 
bury meeting-house, and that this was offi- 
cially accepted. Of the truth of this tradition 
I know not. I can speak with more positive- 
ness of the plan of the log-cabin, which was 
drawn out upon a small piece of board and 
submitted to Charlie King. The dimensions 
decided upon were twenty by fourteen feet 
on the inside. This required logs twenty-two 
by sixteen feet. The brush was soon cleared, 
and the axe was put to the root of a twin 
cedar, whose stump Mrs. Shayback immedi- 
ately appropriated for a rustic seat. The pil- 
lars of our house were standing in a grove 
just beyond the beautiful park in which our 



246 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

tents are set. There were great Doric ce- 
dars, Ionic hemlocks, and tall and elegant 
white birches, like plain Corinthian columns, 
with spreading leafy capitals. For a log- 
house, nothing is better than spruce, which 
runs pretty even in diameter for many feet. 
But there was no spruce at hand, at least not 
in sufficient numbers for our cabin ; but, for 
durability, nothing could be better than the 
cedar of which we decided to built it. It 
was lighter to handle and easily worked. The 
only trouble was that, while the butts were 
large, the trees did not hold their diameter, 
so that a twenty-two feet log was much smaller 
at the top than at the bottom. But this 
could be remedied by reversing the logs in 
laying them up, so that the large butt of one 
log would rest on the small end of another. 
Thirty-two trees were chosen. Blow after 
blow rang through the forest ; and tree after 
tree fell, crashing into the heavy underbrush 
below. Then the limbs were cut off, and 
roads were cut through the brush to draw 
them. Farmer Bigelow, with Gypsey and a 



OUR LOG-CABIN. 247 

good log-chain, spent the most of a day in 
haulins: them to the site of the cabin. 

The corner-stone of the new building was 

laid without ceremony. I say corner-stone. 

But a very big bowlder would have been 

needed under the southwestern corner of our 

cabin, to make the foundation as level as it 

was when about a ton of stone was carried 

from the lake shores and piled up into a solid 

pier. Four heavy logs were chosen for the 

foundation. The logs running longitudinally 

were laid first. A notch called " a saddle " 

was cut in each end. The cross-pieces were 

then laid on, with notches cut to fit into the 

logs beneath them. Then another tier of logs 

was laid on these in the same manner. And 

so the cabin proceeded, growing not brick 

by brick, but log by log and tier by tier. It 

required ten logs on each side, or forty in all, 

to insure a wall seven feet in height ; and from 

this the roof was to spring sharply to a peak. 

Some of the logs were unpropitious, but 

King's incisive axe hewed them into shape. 

The rafters were cut from cedar poles. Beams 



248 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

were laid across from wall to wall to bind the 
building and to provide for a loft at each end 
of the cabin five feet in width, leaving a space 
of ten feet in the centre, in which the rustic 
rafters were exposed to view. 

The builder of a frame-house generally 
puts in the openings for windows as he goes 
along. The windows and doors of a log-cabin 
are put in after all the walls are up. The 
places for windows and doors are then marked. 
A log is hewed out with an axe, and the rest 
of the window or door is cut with a cross-cut 
saw. A place for the chimney is cut in the 
same way. The Shaybacks had decided, in 
lieu of windows in the side of the cabin, to 
have two large doors at each end, making an 
opening six feet in width, so that in pleasant 
weather the doors might be swung back and 
the breezes sweep through from the lake. It 
was also a part of their plan, yet to be ful- 
filled, to have windows in the doors and in 
the gable ends. Boards for the flooring and 
the roof and shingles were obtained at Fitch 
Bay, six miles away. Not so easy, however, 



OUR LOG-CABIN. 249 

was it to get all the material. Not one of the 
three stores in Georgeville had a shingle-nail. 
An order was sent to Magog, by the evening 
stage. But Mr. Shayback rowed to George- 
ville before breakfast the next morning only 
to find that no shingle-nails were to be had in 
Magog. Taylor, one of the storekeepers, 
was sure that the twenty pounds needed 
might be borrowed of Rat Packard, who was 
building a house a mile and a half away. 
The pilgrimage across the fields for this pur- 
pose was unsuccessful ; and, finally, Mr. Shay- 
back determined, as there were no shingle- 
nails in Canada, to send to the United States 
of America by the steamer Lady of the Lake. 
The errand, kindly accepted by a venerable 
friend, was promptly executed; and the 
shingle-nails were at hand in the afternoon, 
ready for use the next morning. 

An equal difficulty was experienced in get- 
ting lime for our mortar. An order was sent 
to Magog by the Mountain Maid. But there 
was no lime in Magog. We then essayed to 
telegraph to Newport, but the telegraph did 



250 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP, 

not work. Finally, after two days' delay, it 
was learned that lime could be obtained in a 
kiln across the lake, two miles from the water. 
A skiff and two men were sent for it, but an 
ox-team had to be hired on the other side to 
draw the three barrels necessary. Lime is 
not the only thing to which the word slack is 
applicable in this region. It is this modera- 
tion in movement and freedom from excite- 
ment which makes the vicinage of this lake a 
desirable soothing place for inflammable and 
restive people. 

As good brick could be found on the site 
of our old camp at Merriman's, less than a 
mile away, and also excellent sand for our 
mortar, all the men and the boys in camp 
made a voyage with Joe Hughes and his 
barge to the brick kiln ; and while Burbank 
loaded the sand, the others selected the eight 
hundred brick which the estimate required. 
The miscalculation in brick was afterwards 
repaired by a voyage in two of the skiffs, in 
which Mrs. Ganzbach and Mrs. Shayback 
handled two hundred more brick with indus- 



OUR LOG-CABIN, 251 

try, if not with professional facility. There 
was at first some dispute among the natives 
as to what knowledge of the bricklayer's art 
would suffice to build a fireplace and a chim- 
ney. But all agreed that Vaughn across the 
lake could make the best job, notwithstand- 
ing the timidity he had about crossing the 
lake in a small boat. He proved to be a 
" workman that needed not to be ashamed." 

To the uninitiated, it was not clear what 
was to be done with the great yawning cracks, 
sometimes two inches in width, which lay be- 
tween the tiers of logs. But to King, who 
had laid up many a log-house, this presented 
no difficulty. Strips of wood and branches 
of trees were nailed into the crevices, and 
then the chinks between the logs were plas- 
tered inside and out with mortar. A log- 
cabin treated in this way is one of the warm- 
est of houses. Sometimes, moss and clay are 
used for pointing between the chinks, where 
lime and sand cannot be had. 

During the ten days in which it was going 
up, every step in its evolution was watched 



252 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

by the campers with as much interest as Silas 
Lapham watched his house on the water-side 
of Beacon Street ; and every one of the camp- 
ersj large and small, without distinction of 
sex, had something to do with rearing it. 
Mr. Ganzbach and Mr. Shayback helped to 
hew off the Hmbs, to carry the trees, and un- 
der King's direction to " lay them up." It 
was Mr. Shayback's further mission to secure 
material and labor, and, with Dio's help, to 
dig the foundation for the chimney. It was 
a matter of pride to Mrs. Shayback and Frank, 
that they shingled about half of the roof. 

" It tickled me," said King, " to see a wo- 
man do that. She beat my father-in-law, and 
I plagued him a good deal about it when we 
got home." 

The locker in the corner was Calvin's spe- 
cial work. He also laid much of the floor, 
and chinked the logs, and put on the locks. 
The children handled the brick and ran on 
errands. Even our guests took hold. Cousin 
Alfred was used to the saw and hammer ; and 
it was he who ran to the blacksmith's at the 



OUR LOG-CABIN. 253 

right time, and got him to forge the eyes for 
the hanging of the crane ; nor will our min- 
isterial guest from Boston be likely to forget 
the weight of those enormous hearthstones 
which we carried on a barrow from the lake 
to the cabin. But King, our French Cana- 
dian, who was the builder-in-chief, bears off 
the palm for industry and skill. His fame 
as a hewer, developed in more than one 
ship-yard in the United States, extends far 
and wide. As an expert with the broad- 
axe, we would match him against any man in 
Canada. It was a wonder and a delight to 
see the precision with which the broad-axe, in 
hewing along a line, would strike in the same 
place every time, and leave the log almost as 
smooth as if it had been planed. 

It was not until Saturday evening, three 
days before the day set to break camp, that 
the cabin was sufficiently completed to be hab- 
itable. For three delightful Sundays the 
Shaybacks had held religious services in their 
grove temple. Here, in the open aisles of 
this leafy bower, the campers gathered, sup- 



254 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

plemented by a few friends from the village, 
constituting a regular audience of about 
twenty. The Gothic cathedral is said to be 
an imitation of a grove, with its lines point- 
ing skyward. But nature has not been 
dwarfed by the imitation. No structure 
reared by human hands seemed more beautiful 
than this God-wrought temple in which the 
camp was gathered. Not the cedars of Leb- 
anon were more reverent or beautiful than 
these which rose in stately solemnity, while the 
white birches mingled their quivering branches 
with the evergreen in the fretted groining of 
the roof. If there were no galleries in this 
grove temple, the campers easily made them 
by swinging six or eight of their hammocks 
between the pillars. Perhaps if hammocks 
were permitted to be swung between the col- 
umns of our city churches, church-going 
would be more popular in drowsy weather. 

But the last Sunday in camp was not pro- 
pitious for out-of-door worship. It was then 
that the log-cabin became our meeting-house. 
The altar fire was lighted on the hearth ; and, 



OUR LOG-CABIN. 255 

while we "mused, the fire burned." The 
dedicatory sermon was preached by the pas- 
tor of the oldest religious society in Boston/ 
albeit the dedication which it implied was 
rather that of the temple of the Holy Ghost 
than of this little log-cabin. When the Pu- 
ritan settlers landed in New England, they 
first worshiped in the grove, and then in their 
rude little meeting-house. So it was fitting 
that the voice of thanksgiving, praise, and 
prayer should be the first consecration of our 
Canadian cabin. 

The campers determined to have a house- 
warming, or shall I call it a. house-freezing, 
when ice-cream and the fire on the hearth 
contended for the supremacy. Mr. Shayback 
trolled all day, in the vain endeavor to induce 
a large lake trout to attend the evening cere- 
monies. But other invitations issued, with a 
much smaller spoon for bait, were more po- 
litely honored by our friends in the village. 
A large back-log sawed by two of the ladies 
with a cross-cut saw was put in the fireplace, 

1 First Parish, Dorchester, Rev. C. E,. Eliot, pastor. 



256 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP, 

and the pile made ready to light. A heavy 
frieze of golden-rod was hung all around the 
cabin. A branch of scarlet-tinted maple 
leaves found in the woods seemed to have 
ripened especially for the occasion. Three 
large, brilliant kerosene lamps were hung 
from the rafters, supplemented by candles and 
Chinese lanterns. Such afghans and cushions 
as the camp possessed were spread on boxes 
and benches to give color as well as ease to 
the scene. It was just at dusk when the 
sound of merry voices was heard on the wa- 
ter ; three boat-loads from the village brought 
the doctor, his daughter, and a friend. Mon- 
treal, Boston, and New York, as well as 
Georgeville, were represented by the guests 
present. Guests and campers numbered twen- 
ty-seven in all. It was deemed appropriate 
that the fire should be lighted by the oldest 
and the youngest member present, there being 
just seventy years between their ages. As a 
Canadian King had built the cabin it was fit- 
ting that a Boston Prince should preside at 
the house-warming. Then little Arthur for- 



OUR LOG-CABIN. 257 

mally delivered the key to Mr. Shayback, who 
received it with the same mute eloquence with 
which it was conveyed. The huge caldron of 
chocolate which the camp ladies prepared was 
distributed with oaten flakes, the nearest ap- 
proach to a delicacy left in the camp larder. 
Mrs. Packard's generous gift of ice-cream 
from the village was gratefully accepted, and 
imparted a genial chill to the occasion. The 
social festivity was concluded by all joining 
in singing " Auld Lang Syne." But it was 
long after the guests had departed before the 
fire on the hearth was quenched and the 
Shaybacks retired to their fragrant couches 
for the last night in camp. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

MR. SHAYBACK AT MUSTER. 

The best way to go to war is to do so in 
time of peace. You are then free from many 
inconveniences. You avoid long and distress- 
ing marches. You are seldom absent from 
your home for any great length of time. 
Your diet is more equable. Your uniform, 
hanging on a hook in the clothes-press three 
fourths of the time, is in much less danger of 
being soiled than if exposed to the dust, rain, 
or blood-stains of active service. If moth- 
holes are less honorable than bullet-holes, 
there is this to be said in their favor : they 
pierce the uniform when the wearer is not 
inside of it. The needed ventilation for the 
militia man's attire is obtained in the expos- 
ure of armory drill or dress parade rather 
than in more disastrous exposure to an ene- 



MR. SHAYBACK AT MUSTER. 259 

my's fire. If the militia man belong to the 
cavalry, or if as an officer he is entitled to 
ride, he may civilly turn his miHtary horse to 
advantage in many directions. He may drive 
him to a truck, put him on a milk route, 
hitch him in a doctor's gig, or use him for 
family purposes, till the trumpet sounds the 
"assembly," when this same steed, bridled 
and caparisoned, like the battle-horse of Job, 
" goeth on to meet the armed men ; his neck 
is clothed with thunder; the glory of his 
nostrils is terrible. He mocketh at fear, and 
is not affrighted; neither turneth he back 
from the sword." 

Such were the thoughts which revolved in 
Mr. Shayback's mind, when he was invited 
to accept a position as chaplain in the Massa- 
chusetts Volunteer Militia. It seemed to him 
that the time was then exceedingly propitious 
for serving his country. Having offered his 
services some twenty years before to the 
United States Navy, under circumstances of 
health which forbade the government from 
accepting them, Mr. Shayback's pride was 



260 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

restored to its full height by this overture 
from the State of Massachusetts, communi- 
cated to him through one of its ablest and 
most gracious colonels. 

"Framingham, fair cup-bearer, leaf -cinct- 
ured Hebe of the deep-bosomed queen sitting 
by the seaside on the throne of the six na- 
tions." So wrote Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, 
when, on returning from his " Hunt after the 
^ Captain ' " during the war, he passed through 
Framingham, Mass., with his wounded son 
on the train. If Dr. Holmes had visited 
Framingham during the week we are about 
to describe, he would have found leaf-cinct- 
ured Hebe engaged in a different but still 
highly classical operation, that of putting in 
running order the special war chariots of the 
Boston and Albany Railroad. 

" Bright Hebe waits ; by Hebe, ever young, 
The whirling wheels are to the chariot hung. 
On the bright axle turns the bidden wheel 
Of sounding brass ; the polished axle steel." 

Homer did not know that car wheels are 
made of paper. 



MR. SHAY BACK AT MUSTER. 261 

" Athena hath laid aside her woven vesture, 
and arrayed her in armor for dolorous battle." 
Upon her head, she has set her crested golden 
helmet, and gone forth into the camp of the 
Greeks at Framingham. Under a similar in- 
spiration, awakened by a general order from 
the commanding officer, Mr. Shayback put on 
his warlike garb and prepared to go to the 
same place. 

Massachusetts is fortunate in a good many 
things, and she is fortunate in having a fine 
ground on which the troops of the State may 
assemble for their yearly exercise. It is a 
level, unbroken plain of large extent, fenced 
in, provided with an arsenal, and with perma- 
nent quarters for the general commanding 
the brigade and his staff. It is without 
beauty of scenery, unless we take the word 
scene in its original Greek sense, meaning a 
tent, a camp. In that sense, no place in the 
State has so much scenery during two weeks 
of the year as Framingham. The tents for 
fifteen hundred men cover a broad strip of 
this field, running its whole extent. They 



262 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

are laid out with military precision, and form 
a pleasing picture to the eye, especially if 
one sees them from the north side, where 
the unaesthetic kitchens are hidden from view. 
If now "the fair cup-bearer" had only poured 
a river into this valley, we should have here 
a perfect camp ground for military purposes. 
The drinking water now obtained from wells 
may eventually be had from a small pond 
lying outside the grounds and not affected by 
its drainage; but no military camp is com- 
plete without a place for the soldiers to bathe. 
Pursuant to order, Mr. Shayback assembled 
himself at the headquarters of his regiment 
in Pemberton Square, Boston. The field 
and staff were present in full force, and one 
by one the eight companies reported for duty. 
Some were rather slim in numbers, the inter- 
ests of employers sometimes conflicting with 
the interests of the State. The large com- 
panies of war times, when a hundred men 
marched under command of one captain, no 
longer exist. The plethoric drum was there, 
and the sonorous instruments of the band, 



MR. SHAY BACK AT MUSTER. 263 

waiting for that intelligent inspiration which 
should convert them all into sounding brass 
and tinkling cymbal. The rattling drum 
corps, with the compact and facile drum-major 
and his magic staff, were there too. The 
Word of command was given by the colonel, 
the drums pulsed with rhythmic beats, the 
brass lungs vented their brazen music, and 
the whole regiment moved off in equal step, 
as if animated throughout by a single will. 

The regiment reached the depot, and was 
on the train two minutes ahead of the time 
required ! Railroads perform this good ser- 
vice for the community: they keep up the 
ideal and the necessity of promptness. And 
Colonel Bancroft showed how promptness 
could be organized into a military virtue. 
Mr. Shayback would fain inquire here how it 
is that a thousand people can gather together 
at a railroad depot two or three minutes be- 
fore the train starts ; but, if the same number 
of people were expecting to go to church, 
about one third of them would come in after 
the service had begun. 



264 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

Arriving at South Framingham, the field 
and staff mounted their horses, and the regi- 
ment triumphantly marched to the camp 
ground. A gracious shower the previous 
night had laid the dust. The pathway was 
one of pleasantness and peace. 

Halting his men on the camp ground, the 
colonel made them a brief speech before dis- 
missing them to their quarters, exhorting 
them to remember that they came for two 
things : first, to do their duty ; and, secondly , 
to have a good time. Then, the work of the 
week began. A busy week it was too. A 
detail of soldiers sent up on the previous day 
had, under the direction of the regimental 
quartermasters and the brigade engineer, 
pitched all the tents. The canvas city was 
soon occupied, and the effects of men and 
officers neatly arranged within them. Each 
of the officers rejoiced in two wall tents nine 
by eleven, placed end to end, the front one 
serving as a sitting-room, the second as a bed- 
room. The men divided up into squads were 
also quartered in wall tents. No A or shelter 



MR. SHAYBACK AT MUSTER. 265 

tents were used. Let them be reserved for 
the horrors of war. The State wisely deter- 
mines to make its men as comfortable as pos- 
sible during their stay in camp. The tents 
are provided with board floors, and the 
ground is so even that they require little lev- 
eling. 

In strange contrast to these felicitous in- 
teriors with their wooden floors, cots, wash- 
stands, tables, and curtained wardrobes, Mr. 
Shayback recalled the many times he had 
pitched his tent on a cactus bed and cast his 
buffalo skin on the side he had cleared from 
its dominion, always being careful, however, 
to keep the uprooted spines out of his blan- 
kets. He does not forget how his active 
imagination converted one of these spines 
into a rattlesnake which bit him one night in 
the foot, and caused him to bound from his 
bed without waiting for the reveille. Nor 
does he forget that night when they camped 
on a bed of glacial drift in Western Dakota, 
where there were not only enough stones to 
furnish a pillow like that of Jacob's, but also 



266 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

enough to furnish a whole mattress. Such a 
mattress is not so elastic as one made of 
springs or spruce boughs. 

The Massachusetts militia is nearly equally 
divided into two brigades. Instead of regi- 
mental encampments as in New York^ a whole 
brigade camps together ; the first brigade in 
June and the second in July. When fully 
occupied by three regiments of infantry, a 
battalion of cavalry, and a battalion of artil- 
lery, the camp at Framingham presents a de- 
cidedly military aspect. The sound of bugle 
and drums, the pacing of the sentinels, the 
evolutions of companies and regiments on the 
field, the galloping of horses, th6 music of 
the bands, the crack of the rifle at the shoot- 
ing range, and the reverberations of the morn- 
ing and evening gun, all furnish the spectator 
or participant with the most warlike associa- 
tions. But to Mr. Shayback there was one 
thing lacking to the perfect military aspect of 
the camp. It was the absence of the army 
wagon and the army mule. Having formed 
an intimate acquaintance with that element of 



MR. SHAYBACK AT MUSTER. 267 

discord, impiety, and utility, Mr. Shayback 
could not overlook his absence from a mili- 
tary camp. But he wore no mourning on his 
arm or in his heart. Had the army mule 
abounded at this camp, his duties as chaplain 
would have been greatly increased; and he 
would have been far less fitted to exercise 
them. Every mule team needs two chaplains, 
one to look after the religious education of 
the teamster and the other to suppress the 
irreligion of the mules. Were this idea car- 
ried out, a place might be found for all the 
unsettled ministers of Massachusetts. But, 
whatever moral force might be summoned 
against him, we are sure the mule would be 
triumphant in the long run. An animal who 
carries his sense of humor, his sense of jus- 
tice, and his capacity for argument all in his 
heels, cannot always be reached by appeals to 
his head and heart. The teamster follows 
another course, and addresses his ears and 
his hide. Will some competent moralist in- 
form us whether it is the teamster that first 
corrupts the mule or the mule that first cor- 
rupts the teamster ? 



268 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

If the Adjutant-General had drawn a req- 
uisition on the Signal Service Bureau for ex- 
cellent weather, the order could not have been 
better fulfilled. Tuesday, the air was crisp 
and cool, a steady breeze blew through the 
camp. A fino shower on Wednesday night 
laid the dust and cleansed the air. A mis- 
chievous gale of wind blew down the mess- 
tent of the band. It would have been of 
more service, if it had inflated their instru- 
ments. It is a constant marvel to Mr. Shay- 
back how a band can blow a whole week 
with pneumatic constancy without exhausting 
themselves and exhausting the atmosphere. 
Friday morning, the spirits of the men were 
dampened by the rain that gently pattered 
on their tents ; but it was simply Pluvius 
kindly driving a watering-cart above. The 
sun came out fiercely before noon, and helped 
to bake necks and faces to a healthy brown. 
The interest which the boys felt in camp is 
shown in the way they turned out. The reg- 
imental commanders were correspondingly 
gratified, and General Peach's countenance 



MR. SHAYBACK AT MUSTER. 269 

bloomed with general satisfaction. A less 
degree of satisfaction would not accord with 
his rank. 

Each day was packed as full of military 
exercises as it could hold, and the men filled 
in the chinks of time by playing base ball. 
Colonel Pennington, of the regular army, 
whose red plume is yearly welcomed at the en- 
campment, makes a report to the government, 
which his well-trained eye, acute observation, 
and ample experience can well furnish. I 
may say, however, that, viewed from a chap- 
lain's standpoint, the moral condition of the 
camp was, on the whole, very gratifying. I 
do not mean that a military camp-meeting is 
precisely like a religious one. The sources of 
refreshment are apt to be entirely different. 
In any camp of eighteen hundred men there 
are always some who do not know how to 
have a good time. Excess is sure to defeat 
enjoyment. I am persuaded that, if more 
men came to get a prescription from the 
chaplain, fewer would need to get a prescrip- 
tion from the surgeon. The spirit which 



270 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

needs to be exorcised from a military camp is 
the demon of the demijohn. It is gratifying 
to note, however, the general good order 
which prevailed both day and night. The 
chaplain's duties were therefore extremely 
light. Father Lee, the chaplain of the Ninth, 
established a tax on profanity in his regiment. 
The small amount of revenue derived from it 
indicates the self-restraint which the presence 
of the chaplain evoked. How much profan- 
ity occurred out of his hearing, it would not 
be courtesy to reckon. Troopers are supposed 
to be more addicted to this vice than foot 
soldiers. Perhaps the best test of such an 
experiment would be to try it in the cav- 
alry. 

It is one of the felicities of military life 
that you do not have to map out your time. 
Your time is mapped out for you. The bu- 
gle and the drum deal it out in installments. 
Reveille sounded at 5.45 a. m. ; surgeon's call 
at 6.15, when the sick and wounded gathered 
around the doctor's tent ; breakfast at 6A5 ; 
adjutant's call (guard mounting) at 8.30; 



MR. SHAYBACK AT MUSTER. 271 

drill, 9.30; recall, 11.30; orderly hours, 
12.00 M. ; dinner, 12.30 p. m. ; drHl, 3.00 ; 
recall, 4.30 ; dress parade and retreat, 5.30 ; 
inspection and muster, immediately after dress 
parade ; supper, 6.45 ; tattoo, 10.30 ; taps, 
11.00. The amount of work exacted from 
the soldier in drills and guard duty is consid- 
erable ; but it is the opinion of Mr. Shayback 
that no soldiers worked quite so hard during 
the camp as the colonel and his adjutant. 

The rations at camp, dispensed as they are 
by hired caterers, are somewhat more varied 
and liberal than they are in the regular army. 
There are civilians who wonder, when the sol- 
diers march back to their homes, how they 
can look so well after living a whole week 
on hard-tack and bacon. 

The chaplain and the rest of the regi- 
mental staff are excused from all drills but 
reviews, dress parades, and inspections. At 
inspections, the chaplain follows around be- 
tween the ranks on the tail end of the staff, 
like a snapper on the end of a whip, and 
examines with great solemnity the uniforms 



272 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

of the men to see that the brasses are bright- 
ened, that the coats are well buttoned, and 
the belts put on sufficiently tight to endanger 
the digestion of the wearer. As eight officers 
precede the chaplain in this inspection, there 
is very little left for him to say. It becomes 
with him mainly a study of physiognomy. He 
endeavors to probe the heart which lies be- 
neath the coat. While the rest of the field 
and staff are measuring the man's body, the 
chaplain is trying to inspect his soul. Not 
all men wear their hearts on their sleeves. 
The task of the religious inspector is there- 
fore more difficult than the superficial work 
of his associates. 

The position of a chaplain on a regimental 
staff is one of peculiar responsibility in all 
military evolutions. His position is on the 
extreme left. This responsibility he shares 
with the surgeon, whose position is on the 
extreme right. The other staff officers are 
sandwiched between them. It is not easy to 
describe military evolutions to men and wo- 
men of purely domestic tastes. Imagine a 



MR. SHAYBACK AT MUSTER. 273 

row of five muffins in a bake-pan. The sur- 
geon would represent the muffin on the right 
end and the chaplain the muffin on the left. 
The rest of the "dough boys" — the quarter- 
master, assistant surgeon, and paymaster — 
fill in between. The term "muffin " is chosen 
entirely at random, and has only a metaphoric 
significance. The term " dough boy " is an 
army name for an infantry man. The sur- 
geon may be supposed to symbolize the body 
of the regiment and the chaplain to symbolize 
its soul. In all evolutions, it is necessary to 
wheel on either the soul or the body. Some- 
times the chaplain occupies the humble office 
of pivot, while the surgeon describes an arc. 
Sometimes, the surgeon is the pivot and the 
chaplain the describer. All that is necessary 
for the rest of the staff is to remain between 
these layers like the inside of a well-ordered 
pie which refuses to ooze out of the crust. 

In some regiments, the drill of the staff is 
greatly neglected. There is no sight more 
pathetic to a military man than a staff which 
is completely demoralized from a failure to 



274 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

recognize the proper ubiquities of its position. 
The private soldier in the ranks sacrifices his 
individuality on drill ; it is the privilege of 
staff officers to retain theirs, with all the 
disastrous consequences this may involve. 
When the call sounds for dress parade, the 
staff are always ready. They have succeeded 
in adjusting their helmet cords under their 
right arms, have given their plumes to the 
breeze, mounted their restive steeds, and are 
ready for the glory which awaits them. An- 
other bugle note from headquarters trembles 
on the air. The various companies from the 
regiments march out in quick time; and, 
amid the shouting of their captains, the colo- 
nel, and the adjutant, form a double Hne in 
front of the company streets. The staff, 
with bridles in one hand and swords firmly 
clinched in the other, await future action at 
a distance of thirty-three yards in the rear. 
In time of war, such a position has its advan- 
tages. As the chaplain has no sword to 
clinch and his only weapon is a lead pencil 
concealed in his vest pocket, he either 



MR. SHAYBACK AT MUSTER. 275 

clinches his right fist on the bridle, or drops 
his hand gracelessly by his side. It is about 
this time that the embarrassment of the staff 
begins. 

"What do we do next?" says one who is 
serving his first tour of duty. 

" Well/' replies the surgeon, " we go up at 
the command of ' Rear, Open Order/ " 

" No," replies the quartermaster, " wait for 
the order, ' Field and Staff to the Front.' " 

The quartermaster insists that he is right, 
the suro^eon insists that he is wrongr. 

The paymaster confesses that he crammed 
on the subject before leaving his tent. All 
make the same confession. None are able to 
agree as to what the book says. 

"I tell you," says one, "it is ^Rear, Open 
Order.' " 

"I will bet you a hat," says another, "that 
it is ' Field and Staff to the Front.' " 

The chaplain suggests that it would be a 
good plan to leave the question to their 
horses. They would probably know what to 
do better than their riders. Indeed, Professor 



276 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

Bartholomew's educated horses seem to go 
through the most intricate evolutions without 
riders at all, and perhaps with less embarrass- 
ment than if they had them. 

Meantime, the colonel, in his stentorian 
voice, shouts out, " Rear, Open Order ^^ 

" I told you so," says the surgeon. 

'^ March r^ cries the colonel. 

The staff, as if animated by a sudden in- 
spiration, put spurs to their horses, and race 
off for their positions on the right flank, 
on the line of the company officers. The 
movement may lack dignity, but it has the 
virtue of promptness. The alignment is 
somewhat unsteady. 

^' Well, we got up here," says one. 

"Yes," says another; "and I think, all 
things considered, we did pretty well." 

The chaplain asks the assistant surgeon 
and quartermaster to dress up on the sur- 
geon. The paymaster reminds the chaplain 
that he should be about six yards from the 
line of company officers. The regimental 
adjutant, who is slightly in the rear of the 



MR. SHAYBACK AT MUSTER. 211 

staff, cautions them to have their swords 
ready for t]ie present. He observes that one 
of the staff has forgotten to draw his sword. 
The officer reminded brings it to a carry. 

'^ Present!'' cries Adjutant Fry. The 
staff bring the handles of their swords to their 
chins, and hold them up like bowsprits. 

" Arms ! " from Adjutant Fry ; and the 
swords drop together with glittering una- 
nimity. 

" Well done," whispers the chaplain. " I 
congratulate you, gentlemen, on not having 
cut off your horses' ears." 

If it is a dress parade, the staff remain 
stock-still thenceforth until the parade is dis- 
missed. If it is a review, the staff have the 
further task of wheeling to the right, and 
following the colonel in good order at a dis- 
tance of six yards. They must also salute 
with their instruments of death in good time 
with the colonel, when they pass the review- 
ing officer, all save the chaplain indeed, who 
does not salute on review. 

When the staff has the temerity to engage 



278 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

in a battalion drill, the opportunity for dis- 
sension concerning their appropriate position 
is greatly increased. Their chief responsi- 
bility at such a time seems to be to keep out 
of the way of the regiment. The position of 
the staff is thirty-three yards in the rear of 
the regiment; and should the colonel order 
the regiment " About face ! " the staff find 
themselves obliged to get around on the other 
side as quickly as possible. They may not 
get there simultaneously, but they get there 
consecutively, and usually in time to get out 
of the way of the next move. And this is 
the most important service they render on 
drill ; but if their services were relaxed at any 
other time the regiment would seriously feel 
it. Perhaps the chaplain's office is an excep- 
tion. Any relaxation in the religious services, 
which are held at least twice during the week, 
may possibly be deemed a boon. 

I cannot take further space to describe 
everything delectable, curious, engaging, or 
mysterious in our military encampment. 
Regimental concerts are held every evening. 



MR. SHAYBACK AT MUSTER. 279 

The artillery and the cavalry vie with each 
other in their display of Chinese lanterns and 
other decorations, as well as in the prompt- 
ness with which they move off the field after 
dress parade. Thousands of visitors flock to 
the grounds on Thursday, and on Friday, 
when the Governor comes to review the 
troops, the interest of the week culminates. 
Mr. Shayback has for four years accompa- 
nied the Second Brigade of the Massachusetts 
militia to its annual encampment and has 
invariably visited the First Brigade. The 
result has been to increase his respect for the 
Massachusetts militia. The old time muster 
days have passed away, a new and higher 
order of discipline is maintained. More or- 
derly camps he has never seen. The men 
are manly, courteous, and good-natured; the 
officers generous and gentlemanly. And to 
Mr. Shayback it was a satisfaction to think 
that on the following Monday all these men 
and officers would return to the store, the 
shop, the workman's bench, the anvil, the 
clerk's desk, the lawyer's office, and the va- 



280 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

rious avocations of civil life, to devote them- 
selves assiduously to the arts of peace, — all 
the better, we trust, for the lessons of obliga- 
tion, courtesy, and practical service which 
they have received in the art of war. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

CAMP LIFE IN INDIA. — THE YALLEY OF THE 
GODAVERY. 

Owl's Head, so often referred to in these 
pages, looked down on the cradle of the 
present writer, and Memphremagog was the 
first lake to mirror the skies before her. But 
circumstances in after years bade her ex- 
change the Green Mountains for the Ghauts, 
and the frosty air of New England for the 
tropical climate of India. The new home 
was on the table-land of the Deccan where it 
sweeps gradually down to the fertile valley of 
the Godavery. It stood on the banks of a 
small river, tributary to that noble stream, 
amid acacia and tamarind trees and half hid- 
den with roses and luxuriant vines. Here 
the days came and went swift as a weaver's 
shuttle, with little to break the monotony of 



282 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

study. At last it was proposed, one charming 
day in December, that we should go out tour- 
ing ; for that was the name given to the 
annual custom of going about from village to 
village, spending a few days in each, to visit 
schools and oversee the work of the native 
teacher^. 

As no provision for white visitors is made 
in Hindoo villages it is always necessary to go, 
like the snail, provided with a house. To the 
young enthusiastic girl of nineteen this 
seemed, as it proved, a delightfully romantic 
way of becoming intimately acquainted with 
Eastern manners and customs, and the love 
of tent-life then enkindled has never grown 
less. 

It was approaching Christmas time, but the 
air was clear and dry. On the coldest nights 
the mercury never dropped below 56° Fah- 
renheit, and at noon it soared away among 
the nineties. There was no fear of rain or 
showers, for the wet season was over and the 
whole country was clad in the matchless ver- 
dure that the rains had left behind. The 



CAMP LIFE IN INDIA. 283 

sugar-cane fields looked like miniature forests ; 
the green wheat swayed in the soft air ; the 
cotton was bursting its bolls and the peanut 
and sweet-potato vines wove a close fabric 
over the brown earth. The trees were in 
their most beautiful array and the gardens 
were smiling with plenty. What wonder 
that " touring " amid such tropical beauty 
looked fascinating in advance ? 

The tinkling of bells on the bullocks' necks 
in the " compound/' or door-yard, announced 
that the preparations were almost complete. 
Good Mulkoo, the Hindoo cook, had packed 
everything necessary for the culinary depart- 
ment in a chest with strong handles and a good 
lock. This chest was to be his kitchen, china- 
closet, store-room, and sideboard for a month. 
Nothing was forgotten that could possibly be 
needed. There was first the folding tripod 
which was to serve as a cooking range ; a 
nest of copper sauce-pans freshly tinned by 
the traveling tinman ; a " kujah," or porous 
water- jar ; dainty china for four persons ; 
glass, silver, napkins, and table - cloths ; a 



284 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

bottle of curry powder, small packages of 
sundry spices and condiments not easily 
obtained in the villages, and a supply of rice 
and sugar. For fruit and vegetables we were 
to depend on the villagers' gardens ; for milk 
on their buffaloes, from which sweet butter 
would every morning be made by churning 
in a leathern bottle ; for flour on the village 
women, who grind it daily in their rude stone 
mills ; for meat on the poultry-yards of the 
natives, or on the unerring rifle of the head 
of the little camping party. 

The cook's chest was lifted into the low two- 
wheeled cart. Beside it were placed a folding 
table, four folding chairs, two folding bamboo 
cots, a folding washstand, a wall tent, a mar- 
quee and a bundle of matting and rugs. 
Another small chest contained linen, blankets, 
and thin hair pillows. This cart was intrusted 
to a coal-black driver, whose scarlet turban 
and snowy dress gave him a brilliant air. 

The next cart to drive up was covered and 
upholstered, with the cushions arranged in 
such a way that at Jiight, by a little shifting, 



CAMP LIFE IN INDIA. 285 

the vehicle could be converted into a snug 
sleeping apartment, which two of the party 
were to occupy. Pockets and drawers and 
various hiding places furnished receptacles 
for books, stationery, toilet articles, and extra 
wraps. Both carts were drawn by small bul- 
locks with a hump between their shoulders, 
well known in pictures as the " sacred cattle 
of India." They are trained to trot, and they 
jog along from four to six, rarely eight, 
miles an hour. They are driven by ropes 
and a ring through the nose, as the natives 
decline to pollute themselves by using leather 
reins on account of religious scruples. Little 
" Brownie/' a gentle pony, ambled alongside, 
to be ridden in turn by the four as a change 
from the monotonous jar of the bullock cart, 
the full Turkish trousers of the neat taffeta 
gymnastic suits worn by the ladies enabhng 
them to use the man's saddle not only with 
ease but enjoyment. It is much less conspic- 
uous for a woman to ride astride in India, 
after the fashion of the Hindoo and Moham- 
medan women. A woman on a side-saddle 



286 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

would have been a seven days' wonder to 
them. 

The native roads are mere paths among the 
fields, but the highways between the main 
villages are macadamized and kept in good 
repair. As far as the eye can see, the country 
is covered with gardens and plantations, un- 
broken by fences or walls. Rarely a hedge 
interposes its green barrier, but the usual 
dividing lines are ridges of earth with small 
stones set up at intervals to mark the bound- 
aries. On bits of grass land here and there 
shepherds are watching their flocks, and 
occasionally we come to a bit of wild land, 
as yet untamed by the hand of man, where 
we scare up a herd of tiny deer or a covey 
of birds. In the gardens, boys, standing on 
high scafPolds, are guarding the growing crops 
or frightening away marauding birds with 
stones from a sling. It is too early for the 
wheat harvest, but the farmers are beating out 
the earthen threshing floors and preparing 
the great jars — large enough for Ali Baba's 
Forty Thieves — which serve as granaries for 



CAMP LIFE IN INDIA. 287 

the barley, millet, and wheat which will soon 
be ready for the sickle. Only when it is 
ready the people will pull the grain all up 
by the roots instead of using knife or sickle. 

The first obstacle in the road is a small 
river, which we are to cross in a government 
ferry-boat, an unwieldy craft of such propor- 
tions that it can come only within ten feet of 
either shore. We must drive down the bank 
and into the river, and then up incHned planks 
to the deck, and down into the river on the 
other side before we can effect a landing. 
Many streams flow through this part of the 
country on their way to the beautiful Goda- 
very, and twice more we are compelled to 
cross them. On both occasions the rivers are 
so high that the carts must be sent round to 
shallower fords while we, to save the extra 
drive, are put directly across. The first time 
we make the passage on the shoulders of two 
men, who lay their arms about each other's 
necks thus making a seat for us, while with 
the disengaged hands they hold our feet high 
out of the surging, roaring torrent which 



288 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

sweeps up to their naked breasts and seems 
ready to engulf us as we attempt to cross. 
Vainly we try to clutch their smooth-shaven, 
well-oiled heads; their ears are the only projec- 
tion to which we can cHng. The next time we 
crosp with less anxiety but without dry feet. 
The native ferry-boats at this ford are of two 
kinds ; one, a sort of coracle, or tub, made of 
leather stretched over a bamboo frame, and 
which rides the water in a very ticklish 
fashion ; the other, a skeleton of wood buoyed 
at the four corners by large empty water jars 
tightly bound to it by strips of bark, and by 
a lot of dry gourds, wrapped in a net and 
lashed to the lower part of the frame. Two 
of us at a time take the rude seat on this 
ruder raft and are propelled across the wide 
river by several men with gourds tied about 
their necks, and who half swim and half walk 
the water, steering with awkward paddles as 
they push us safely across. 

We are not sorry when, before the day 
closes, we pause in a beautiful mango grove 
where our tents are to be pitched. The mar- 



CAMP LIFE IN INDIA. 289 

quee is pitched under the sheltering arm of a 
banyan-tree, which stretches out seventy feet 
horizontally, supported at various points by 
the aerial roots that it has sent down to the 
earth and which, taking firm hold, have grown 
to be tiny trunks. The tree has scores of 
these little trunks so that it is a grove in it- 
self. 

It is the work of but a few minutes to se- 
lect the exact site of the sleeping tent, roll 
away the small stones, beat the ground to kill 
or drive away snakes, scorpions, or centipedes, 
burn it over to kill smaller pests, sprinkle it 
to lay dust and smoke, and spread over it the 
matting and rugs on which we are to tread, 
if the white ants do not devour the matting 
before morning. 

The tent is 12x12, with high walls, a fly, 
a door, and two windows. It is double 
throughout, white without and crimson within. 
Our furniture is unfolded and set in place, 
and in less time than it takes to describe it a 
charming room is ready for our occupancy. 
The monkeys in the grove, the parrots over- 



290 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

head, and the innumerable black crows above, 
below, and everywhere scold us for breaking 
in upon their domain, but what care we? 
We sit in our tent door, like the patriarchs of 
old, and watch our faithful Mulkoo as he boils 
water over his tripod, sets up three stones 
against a tree and kindles a fire, over which 
as in Scripture time he " seethes a kid " and 
bakes unleavened cakes. From the neighbor- 
ing village he brings dehcious buffalo's milk, 
fresh eggs, mangoes, figs, grapes, and ba- 
nanas, and in due time we have a supper fit 
for the gods, — too good for the gods of wood 
and stone all about us. 

The moon rises and shines down through 
the glossy mango and banyan leaves and 
lights up the little group of servants at their 
simple repast of bread and fruit, and here 
and there wakes a bird to a single note. The 
air is intoxicating with the tropical breath of 
night, but above all the union of sweets we 
perceive the refreshing perfume of orange 
flowers from the garden at our right. But we 
tear ourselves away from this enchantment, 



CAMP LIFE IN INDIA. 291 

and drawing the mosquito bars over our door 
and windows retire for our first night under 
canvas, counting ourselves fortunate that the 
tent, rather than the cart, fell to our lot. 
The latter affords a more luxurious bed and 
is safer from serpents and smaller pests, but it 
shakes disagreeably in a wind, and one is of- 
ten startled out of a sound sleep by a stray 
donkey or buffalo impertinently rubbing up 
against it. 

Morning dawns as it never dawns anywhere 
but in tents, fresh and pure and radiant. 
We shake a scorpion out of a slipper where 
it has tented over night, barely escape tread- 
ing on a six-inch centipede that is scurrying 
over the mat, and think no more of them 
than of a mouse or a squirrel in a New 
England camp. From the mud-walled village 
we can hear " the sound of the grinding " as 
the women turn the weary mills to grind meal 
for the daily bread, singing a low weird song 
as they work. The creak of the well is also 
in the air, where oxen are drawing up, by 
means of groaning pulleys, great skin buckets 



292 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

of water to irrigate the gardens and supply 
the houses in the village. We hurry out for 
a glimpse of the morning and meet women in 
blue and scarlet and white returning from 
the well with water-pots upon their heads. 
Their faces are half hidden by their veils, but 
we can see the gleam of dark eyes and the 
flash of ear and nose rings, and hear the 
tinkle of bangles on wrists and ankles. 

In a tamarind grove not far away is a gray 
stone temple, beautifully carved, and with the 
stones so perfectly laid that one could not in- 
sert a penknife blade between them. Within 
we can see a hideous idol and a stone bull on 
which he is supposed to ride. Several early 
devotees are making offerings of rice and oil 
and garlands of jessamine flowers. 

We wander on through a meadow where 
bright-hued balsams and day-lilies grow wild. 
Along its edge lantanas, ten feet high, make 
natural hedges, and countless other flowers 
are scattered about, filling the air with sweet- 
ness. In the bed of an almost empty brook 
we find tall oleanders in great profusion, for 



CAMP LIFE IN INDIA. 293 

they love to grow where hidden waters feed 
their roots. We pick great handfuls of the 
fragrant and exquisite blossoms and return to 
camp to add them as the finishing touch to 
Mulkoo's breakfast of curried chicken and 
sweet potatoes. 

At ten o'clock our pundit, a high caste 
Brahmin, comes to give us our daily lesson. 
He is a handsome man, with light brown skin, 
piercing black eyes, and well-cut features. 
He is dressed in spotless white flowing robes, 
a snowy turban on his shapely head. He is 
a delightful teacher and friend, this courtly 
Hindoo gentleman, Vishwanath. After 
wrestling for some hours with the mysteries 
of this Eastern tongue we accept his invita- 
tion to visit with him the ruined palace of a 
former Hindoo prince. 

The old palace is not far from our mango 
grove. It was built hundreds of years ago 
of polished stone. The door is deep set in 
a stone archway. Above it is a projecting 
front of woodwork, so thoroughly carved as 
to present an unbroken mass of ornament. 



294 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

Leaves, flowers, fruit, chains, and many fan- 
tastic forms are wrought out of the wood in 
the greatest confusion and clustered together 
in an endless variety of combination. Like 
all of the best Hindoo houses it is built about 
an open court with a fountain in the centre. 
Around this are galleries, the pillars support- 
ing which are carved in the same elaborate 
style as the entrance. The palace is fast 
falling to decay. Common people dwell in 
the elegant galleries and stable their cattle in 
the spacious marble-paved area. 

As we walk along the narrow streets of the 
village we notice that the people are all in 
gala dress. Even the horns of the cattle and 
goats are painted red and have tassels tied to 
them. This is in honor of a visit that a god 
from a neighboring village is to make to our 
idol under the tamarind-tree. The visit is 
made at night. The ugly image comes 
wrapped in cloth of gold and priceless Cash- 
mere shawls, carried in a gilded palanquin 
and followed by an immense procession of 
worshipers. The air quivers with the musical 



CAMP LIFE IN INDIA. 295 

noise — it can hardly be called music — of 
scores of native instruments. Fireworks more 
beautiful than we ever dreamed of are burned 
in honor of the occasion, and though we can- 
not share the people's enthusiasm at the ad- 
vent of the god, we vie with them in enjoy- 
ment of the display. 

Our afternoons are given up to visiting the 
schools. The school-house is a low building 
open on one side to the weather, with a hard 
beaten earth floor on which the little urchins 
sit, and on which they are often caught play- 
ing jackstones when they ought to be learn- 
ing their lessons. There are no girls among 
the scholars. The boys, entirely naked, or 
with a shirt-like frock, or only a waistcloth, 
but with plenty of ornaments and streaks of 
paint on their person, study aloud in a dron- 
ing tone. But they recite with animation 
and show bright, quick intellects. The 
teachers are native, but they do not attempt 
to carry their pupils beyond the three R's. 

So our camp life moves on without excite- 
ment and without adventure. Every few 



296 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

days we cliange our site, visit new villages, 
become better acquainted with the simple, 
kindly people and their strange mythology, 
and more interested in their language and 
their education. 

We always strike our tents early in the 
morning and often walk from village to 
village, six or eight miles, leaving the carts 
to follow. At one of the largest villages by 
which we tented we were invited to visit the 
house of the head-man, or Parted, and we 
were nothing loath to see the inside of a 
high-caste Hindoo home, as foreigners are 
usually jealously excluded. 

The house stood close on the street with no 
more imposing front than a high, smooth wall 
daubed with yellow wash, and with vermilion 
figures traced on the threshold. The door- 
way of wood was handsomely carved, but 
otherwise there was no ornamentation. 

On entering we found ourselves in a square 
courtyard, in the centre of which a small 
fountain was playing into a dark stone basin, 
on whose borders a few plants were growing. 



CAMP LIFE IN INDIA. 297 

Sundry goats and chickens wandering about 
the yard detracted from the neatness and 
beauty of the place. Around the court stood 
the dwelling. There were eight rooms, four 
in the first and four in the second story. 
This was a house where one who wished to 
throw stones could live in safety, for there was 
no glass about it, not even a single window 
pane. The rooms had each three walls, the 
fourth side being open toward the court. 
The upper story was guarded by a light lat- 
tice-work running across the lower part of the 
room, with curtains above. The lower rooms 
could also be curtained off from the court. 
They were raised a step or two above the 
ground and the floors were of beaten earth. 

We were ushered into the largest apart- 
ment, a reception-room for the Parteel's 
guests. He received us cordially, though 
looking hard at our feet to see if we really 
intended to come in with our shoes on. We 
also looked admiringly at his well-shaped, 
bare, brown feet, but were all silent on this 
subject. Here and there lay bright-colored 



298 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

Turkish and Indian rugs, which lighted up 
the room wonderfully. In vain did we cast 
our eyes about for anything else. The Parteel 
motioned us to a seat on a rug on a divan that 
followed the wall on two sides of the room, set- 
ting the example by deftly folding up his legs 
and making use of them as a chair. In the 
twinkhng of an eye we had each dropped in 
like manner upon a mat. What a forlorn 
home ! No furniture, no pictures, no art 
treasures, no books, worse than all no womanly 
presence making itself felt as a benediction. 

But the quick fire of Hindoo questions, 
unsurpassed by any Yankee's, left no time for 
reflection. What might our names be, how 
old were we, were we married, had we chil- 
dren and how many (always excepting the 
girls, who do not count to a Hindoo mind), 
and did we come in a ship, and what was a 
ship like, and what kept it from sinking, and 
was it true that we could walk on water in 
our land (ice), etc., etc., almost without end, 
with occasionally an exclamation at the de- 
scription of new wonders and especially at 



CAMP LIFE IN INDIA. 299 

learning that we do not alio ays do as our 
grandfathers did before us. 

We modestly expressed a desire to see his 
wife and children. The Parteel acquiesced 
and withdrew, not to appear again, for it 
would be against all custom for husband and 
wife to appear together. Soon the hanging 
was drawn timidly aside and in slipped several 
women wearing their graceful drapery as 
only Hindoo women can, and two or three 
little children, the youngest riding astride her 
mother's hip, after the usual way of carrying 
babies. At first as we looked at these timid 
women we saw only the draped form and one 
eye, shining at an unknown depth of snow- 
white folds. By and by the veil fell lower 
and the whole face was visible. They be- 
longed to the Parteel's household, — two or 
three were his wives, the others relatives. 
After them came a group of women, neigh- 
bors drawn thither by the reported visit. All 
seated themselves on the rugs. Many were 
dressed entirely in white, except the brilliant 
border of colored silk which is woven into 



300 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

the fabric. The manner of dress is alike for 
all. It consists of two pieces of apparel, — 
a small, close-fitting jacket next the skin, low 
in the neck, short sleeved and open in front ; 
then a strip of cloth from eight to ten yards 
long and about a yard wide, which is wound 
about the body several times, a little loose- 
ness being given by laying a plait on one side, 
and the end brought around the shoulders 
and head so that the wearer is completely 
concealed, if she please, this one article ser- 
ving as skirt, bodice, mantle, and veil, without 
the use of hook, button, or pin. It may be 
of any color, but indigo blue is the prevailing 
tint. The wealthy wear white. Beneath this 
dress the tiny £eet steal out loaded with silver 
toe-rings, anklets, and jingling chains. The 
arms are covered with bangles, the fingers 
with rings, the neck with necklaces innumer- 
able, from the tiny circlet about the throat to 
the heavy chain that rests on the swelling 
bosom. The ears are sometimes pierced in 
eight or ten places, each with an ornament 
thrust through ; the nostrils are also pierced 



CAMP LIFE IN INDIA. 301 

and disfigured with ornaments; the long, 
shining braids have coins tied here and there 
among them ; upon the forehead rests a semi- 
circle of flat ornaments, held in place by a 
chain, and in the centre of the brow a bright 
spot of paint indicates that they are idol wor- 
shipers. If married — as they probably 
were while little more than infants — a string 
of tiny black beads is tied closely about the 
throat. This corresponds to the European's 
wedding ring, and is never voluntarily removed 
till widowhood. The eyebrows are stained 
with India ink ; the nails are dyed scarlet and 
the teeth frequently painted black. 

Such was the dress of the women before 
us, with the exception of one, who, in a dark 
garment with no visible ornament, sat apart in 
a corner. We asked if she were in sorrow, 
and were told that she was in deep grief be- 
cause she was childless. " And that," added 
one naively, " is not only a sorrow, but a 
great disgrace." 

Like simple children they studied our dress, 
shoes, stockings, gloves, hats, and handker- 



302 THE SHAYBACKS IN CAMP. 

chiefs with great curiosity, — a curiosity 
equal to our own, which, however, was better 
repressed. At times they exchanged among 
themselves glances of surprise and sometimes 
of contempt. Of course none of them could 
read. The Parted himself laid claim to no 
such accomplishment. There is always a vil- 
lage scribe who can be called on to attend to 
matters of the pen. 

Again with a slight rustle the curtain 
swung aside and a servant appeared, bearing 
a polished waiter covered with shining green 
leaves, a little lime, cardamom seeds, cloves, 
mace, and broken betel-nuts. Refreshments 
for the eye and nose, we thought. We were 
doomed to be undeceived. While we won- 
dered and watched one of the women took a 
leaf in her hand, placed on it a trifle of mace, 
a little lime, a dozen cardamom seeds, and a bit 
of betel-nut ; folded it up to about the size 
of a hazel-nut, pinned it with several cloves, 
and placed it in my fingers. 

"What is it," I very innocently asked. 

" Pan supari," she replied. 



CAMP LIFE IN INDIA. 303 

I looked very wise but continued to hold it, 
noticing at the same time that my companion 
had been also treated to one. 

'' Eat it," urged my Hindoo hostess. 

Now I have a horror of cloves acquired 
when a child from an old woman giving me a 
sugar-coated one in church to keep me still ; 
and the thought of three cloves at once was 
enough to appall me, to say nothing of the 
hitherto untasted lime and other ingredients. 
But knowing something of Eastern ideas of 
hospitality, I feigned to obey by nibbling 
carefully around one of the cloves. 

" Not so ; eat it all and it will be sweet to 
your taste," cried the little lady, and speaking 
in real earnest, for this is their most highly 
prized "goody." 

I began to mutter something about its size 
when a chorus of voices around me cried, 
" Eat, eat, or you are not our friend." 

With a heroic effort I thrust the unwel- 
come bite into my mouth and closed my lips. 
At first the taste was not disagreeable. In 
another moment mouth and throat were con- 



304 THE SHAY BACKS IN CAMP. 

verted into a burning furnace, it was so pun- 
gent and hot. The Hindoos from courtesy, 
and from fear of breaking caste by eating 
with foreigners, refrained from eating them- 
selves. Turning to my friend, whom they 
had been " hospitably entreating " after the 
same fashion, I was startled to see her lips 
look as though bathed in blood. 

" Do I look so too ? " I exclaimed in horror. 
Yes, lips, tongue, and teeth were all of the 
brightest scarlet, and likely to remain so for a 
day or two. 

The women were delighted. They clapped 
their hands, pointed to our lips, and said, 
" Now you are our friends indeed." 

That closed the reception, and as we said 
adieu we were each presented with a cocoanut 
fresh picked from the trees in the garden. 
We were glad to shake the dust of the village 
off from our feet and cool our mouths with 
the delicious fruit. 

Then we wandered on between grain-fields 
and gardens, resting now and then by a well, 
till we could see our tent under the lovely 



CAMP LIFE IN INDIA. 305 

tamarind trees that seemed to be nodding 
their well-shaped boughs in welcome. The 
feathery leaves were fairly dancing in the 
light of the setting sun, save those that the 
shadows had already touched, which were 
folded face to face and would soon be sleeping 
like the birds among them. 

Many a day has come and gone since that 
fair month, and the shadows have touched the 
lives of three of those who then camped in the 
valley of the Godavery, and they too have 
fallen asleep ; their earthly tabernacles are 
folded for aye, and along with the memory of 
this first bit of camp life that we shared to- 
gether come memories that are too deep and 
sweet for words. 




JAN 1 4 1915 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 







